


How to Save a Life

by xtremeroswellian



Series: How to Save a Life [3]
Category: Smallville, Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Dreams, Bittersweet, Danger, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Grief, Hauntings, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Loss, Love, Mutual Pining, Not so imaginary friends, Prophetic Dreams, Stalking, aladdin - Freeform, divine intervention, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:09:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24275635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Relaxing a little, Chloe leaned back against the sofa, not pulling her hand away. "Michael has a new friend," she said with a small smile."He does?""Of the invisible, imaginary kind."
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Dean Winchester, Chloe Sullivan & Sam Winchester, Chloe Sullivan/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Past Chloe Sullivan/Dean Winchester
Series: How to Save a Life [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725268
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: Up through and including “Freak” for Smallville and “Born Under a Bad Sign” for Supernatural.

Five year old Michael growled when his brother yet again smacked him with another toy. Getting up, he began to walk away to find his mom, "Mom! Matt won't leave me alone!!" 

Sighing softly, Chloe quickly wiped her tearful eyes with the back of her hand and stood up from where she'd been sitting at her desk. She flashed her oldest son a smile before kneeling down in front of him. "What's he doing?" 

He pouted, "He keeps hitting me with his trains." 

She winced inwardly, his expression so very remnant of his father's. She kissed his forehead and stood up, taking him by the hand and leading him down the hall to the boys' shared room. "Matthew Dean." 

Matthew looked up innocently and dropped his toy, "What Mommy?" 

If Michael was just like his father, Matthew was just like his uncle. Their interaction consistently reminded her of Dean and Sam Winchester back before everything terrible had happened. "You know you're not supposed to hit your brother." 

He put his head down and his eyes watered, "I sorry Mommy." 

"Come here, Matthew," she whispered, kneeling on the floor again. 

Turning around, he scooted towards his mom and wrapped his arms around her. 

Chloe smiled and hugged him back, kissing his cheek. "Be nice to your older brother, okay? He'll always be looking out for you," she whispered in his ear. 

He nodded and kissed her cheek, "Okay." 

She touched his face and turned to look at Michael, smiling at him again. "Come here, Michael." 

Michael did as he was told and came over to her, sitting down beside her. 

She wrapped an arm around each of them. "I'm the luckiest mom in the world," she whispered as if she was telling them a secret. "You know why?" 

Both the boys looked at her with wide, wondering eyes, "Why Mommy?" 

Her green eyes sparkled as she smiled at both of them. "Because I have the best sons in the world." 

Wrapping his arms around his mom, Michael smiled, "You're the best Mommy." 

She closed her eyes, hugging him back tightly, feeling the tears well up within her once more. She forced herself to take a deep breath and blink them away before either of them could see. "All right, who wants spaghetti for dinner?" 

"I do! I do!" Came the excited cries. 

Chloe grinned and stood up, taking them each by the hand. "All right, who's gonna set the table for Mommy while she cooks?" 

Michael straightened up, "I will." 

She gazed at him proudly. "Thank you very much." She smiled. 

"You're welcome." Dragging a chair to the cupboard, he began to get plates out.

As his brother walked away, Matthew looked up at Chloe, "When's Uncle Sammy coming home?" 

She paused in her tracks, looking down at her youngest son. "Soon, Sweetheart." She smiled faintly. 

"Okay....can I help you cook Mommy?" 

Chloe smiled. "Sure you can. You wanna grab me that big pot under the cabinet?" 

Nodding, he walked over to the cabinet and dragged the pot out onto the floor, then tried to lift it up. 

She stifled a grin and started to help him when Michael moved over to his side quickly, helping him pick up the pot. Tears welled in her eyes once more. "Thank you, boys," she whispered, taking the pot from them and setting it on the counter. She rested her hands on the countertop for a moment, shutting her eyes. 

"Mommy, are you sad?" Came a quiet voice from behind. 

She turned back to face them. "No, Michael, Mommy's not sad. I just have a little headache." She kissed the top of his head, and then the top of Matthew's head, as well. "How could I ever be sad with you two as my babies?" 

Michael smiled, "I hope your headache goes away soon." 

"I'm sure it will. Why don't you guys get your crayons and coloring books and make Mommy some new artwork for the fridge?" she suggested. 

Matthew jumped at the chance and grabbed his brother's hand, and began to drag him away, "Come on!" 

Chloe smiled as they headed out to the living room before closing her eyes and sighing softly. Even after four and a half years, some days were so hard to get through without Dean, it hurt. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she washed her hands before dragging out the ingredients for the spaghetti, casting a worried glance at the clock above the stove. Sam should have been home by now, but he wasn't. 

And she was starting to grow worried. 

That's when the door opened, and a sudden chorus of "Uncle Sam!" rang through the house. 

Chloe relaxed instantly, her shoulders slumping with relief. It was approaching that day and she was more on edge than usual. 

Walking into the room where Chloe was, Sam smiled, "Hey." 

She turned and met his eyes, offering him a small smile. "Hey. Everything okay?" 

"Yeah." He sat down on a bar stool and sighed, "Looong day." 

Me too, she thought, nodding a little. "Hope you're hungry for spaghetti." 

"Sounds great." He said. Frowning a little, he tilted his head, "Bad day?" 

Chloe drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Just a long one," she said softly, her back to him as she went to work, fixing their dinner for the night. 

"One of those days where you miss him a lot?" 

He knew her way too well. Both a blessing and a curse, depending on the day. She simply nodded wordlessly, knowing he was watching her intently. 

"Yeah, same here." He whispered, putting his head down. 

Tears prickled at her eyelids at his soft admission and slowly turned to look at him, her eyes sad. "You okay, Sam?" 

He shook his head, "Not really." 

She slowly moved over to where he was sitting, resting a hand on his shoulder silently. The bar stool creaked softly as he turned toward her and enveloped her in a hug. 

Swallowing hard, she slowly wound her arms around him in return, squeezing her eyes shut and choking back a soft sob she felt building. She couldn't break down with the boys in the next room. 

Sam rubbed her back and whispered words of comfort to her. 

After a long moment, she slowly pulled away, offering him what she hoped was a halfway decent smile. "Thanks," she whispered. 

"It's what I'm here for." He whispered back. 

Chloe bit her lower lip, gazing at him intently. Over the past four years, the two of them had grown even closer than they had been. He was undoubtedly her best friend, the one person she trusted more than anyone else. And he was in love with her. He'd never directly said the words, but he didn't have to. He'd proven it so many times over the years in little ways. The way he looked after her and the boys, the way he never forgot certain things even when she herself did. And he never dated anyone. "How was class?" she asked softly. 

"We did word association today..." He put his head down on the counter and groaned, "Can you say...stupid?" 

A grin tugged at her lips. "That brings back horrible high school memories." 

"Oh yeah." 

Without thinking about it, she reached out and gently stroked his hair with one hand. "So what was the word you started with?" 

His face became pained, "Brother." He whispered. 

"Hence the long day," she whispered back. 

"Pretty much." 

Chloe drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "You know, it's been awhile since..." She bit her lower lip. 

Swallowing, Sam sat up and nodded, "Yeah..." 

"After the boys go to bed...let's talk?" she asked softly, knowing it was something they both needed to do. 

"Sounds good." Looking towards the other room, he could hear the soft giggling coming from it, "I should probably go get the boys cleaned up..." 

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour," she told him. 

"And it'll take me that long to convince them that it's a good thing to wash their hands." 

Chloe chuckled. "Especially Michael." 

He laughed slightly, "Yeah. He's so much like..." he trailed off, a lump forming in his throat at the thought of his brother. 

"I know." She smiled faintly and looked at the floor. 

"Have to keep an eye on him when he gets older. That's for sure." 

Chloe inhaled sharply. "Yeah." She swallowed hard and moved over to the counter. 

Standing up, Sam turned towards the front room, "I'll go watch the boys while you cook." 

Nodding, she stared down at the spaghetti sauce as it blurred with her tears. Today it hurt so bad, even breathing was difficult. 

* * * 

Chloe sat on the sofa, her feet curled up beneath her as she took a small sip of the wine, staring intently at the glass. "They remind me so much of the two of you," she murmured. 

Sam raised an eyebrow and took a drink of his own wine, "You think so?" 

She nodded slightly. "Michael's just like Dean...and Matthew..." She smiled a little and looked over at him. 

He shrugged, "I don't know, I think Matthew acts a lot like you." 

"I don't hit you with my toy trains," she said lightly. 

"Yeah, but you've hit me before." He joked. 

"Playfully." She smiled. 

"Like Matthew does with Michael." 

Chloe's smile widened a little. "Even though it drives Michael crazy." 

Sam smiled as well, "Yep." 

She sipped her wine slowly, her eyes drifting shut for a moment. "Hey, Sam?" Her voice grew quieter. 

"Yeah?" 

"I really appreciate everything you do for us," she whispered. 

He shrugged, "I love doing it." 

"You never wish..." She bit her lower lip. 

He cocked an eyebrow, "Wish what?" 

"I don't know. For more?" Chloe slowly opened her eyes and gazed at him. 

"There's nothing more I could wish for." He said sincerely, gazing back at her. 

She looked down for a moment. "If you did...that would be okay," she whispered. 

He took her hand in his, "The only other thing I'd truly ever want...is...Dean back." 

God, she understood that. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his shoulder. "Me too." 

Sam looked down at her, their faces inches apart, "Yeah..." 

She felt his gaze on her face and she slowly opened her eyes to find him looking at her intently, his eyes filled with warmth. She swallowed hard, unable to look away. 

He began to lean forward, slowly closing the gap between their lips. 

The breath caught in her throat and she quickly pulled away. "I should...check on the boys," she whispered. 

Putting his head down, he nodded slowly, "You should." 

Guilt swept over her and she swallowed hard. "Goodnight, Sam." Her voice was faint. 

"Night Chloe." He whispered, tracing his finger along the grooves in the table. 

Biting her lower lip, she headed out of the room and down the hallway, leaning against the wall for a long moment, riddled with guilt. Because for a moment...she wondered what it would be like to kiss Sam. 

* * * 

Later that night, Michael woke with a start. Looking around with wide eyes, he pulled his blankets up close to him and rocked back and forth. Then, a voice came to him, telling him to go to his mom. Nodding, he got up and dragged his blanket and worn teddy bear with him out of bed and down to his mom's room, where he found her still awake and looking at a book. "Mommy?" 

She was startled by the sound of her son's voice. "Hey, sweetie. What are you doing up?" 

He sniffed a little, "I had a bad dream." 

Her eyes softened even more. "Come here." She patted the bed beside her. "You can stay with me." 

Holding his blanket and bear tighter to him, he climbed onto the bed and snuggled against her. 

"What was your dream about?" Chloe asked softly, gently smoothing the air back from his face. 

"I don't 'member." 

She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "Well, you're safe here. Uncle Sam and I would never let anything bad happen to you or your brother." 

Looking toward the night stand, Michael noticed the book that his mom had been looking at was still open, "Was you looking at Daddy?" 

She was quiet for a moment, then she looked over at the book. "Yeah, I was," she admitted softly. 

"Will you tell me a story?" He asked quietly. 

Chloe glanced back at him. "About your dad?" 

He nodded. 

She smiled faintly and slid her arms around him, resting her chin on top of his head. "Let's see...your dad and I met in Smallville, Kansas, when I was about 18," she began. 

"Then what?" He asked, eager for his mom to keep going. 

Her eyes were warm with memories. "Well, I was working as a reporter at the Daily Planet and I was working on a story about a bad man. Your dad was working on the same case. We didn't like each other very much at first." She chuckled faintly. "But we wound up solving the case together, with each other's help. And then he asked me out for coffee and I said yes." 

He looked up at her, "Did Daddy make it good coffee?" 

"The best," she said solemnly. 

Michael smiled widely, "Good, cause you should always get the bestest things." 

Chloe kissed his nose. "Well I already have the bestest sons in the world." 

"What happened after you drank the bestest coffee?" He asked, curiosity coming back to him. 

"Well, after that, we wound up talking for hours and taking a walk in the country, gazing at the stars. Your dad was an amazing man," she whispered. 

"Was he as 'mazing as you are?" 

"Even more." 

"That's good." He whispered back, snuggling closer to her. 

She smiled sadly and kissed the top of his head. "Sweet dreams, Michael," she whispered. 

Clutching his bear tight, he closed his eyes, "Love you Mommy." 

"I love you too." She closed her eyes, unaware that Sam was standing in the doorway, gazing at them intently, his eyes sad. 

Sam's heart felt heavy as he stood outside the door. It wasn't fair that Michael would never remember his dad. Not at all. As he'd listened to Chloe talk, Sam could tell that she longed for Dean to be there in that moment. Somehow, he knew that if Michael had had a nightmare while Dean was around, he would've known what to say. Sighing, he turned away and went back down to his room, wishing that now, more than ever, his brother was still alive. 

***

Michael sat on the floor of he and Matthew's bedroom, playing with his hot-wheel cars, rolling them back and forth. "Vroom!" 

"What kind of car is that?" 

He looked up. "Impala," he said proudly. 

"Ohh, that's a good car." 

"My daddy drove one. Uncle Sam has it now." He looked down at his cars again, zooming them over the carpet. 

"And do you like going around in it with Uncle Sam?" 

Michael nodded, a small smile on his face. 

"You think he'll let you drive some day?" 

"Yes." He nodded again. "Uncle Sam's cool." 

"Really." 

"Not as cool as Mommy. But almost." 

"Ohh, I see. And what makes your mommy cool?" 

He grinned, his eyes bright. "She's smart and funny. And she's a good cook." 

"She sounds really cool now." 

Michael nodded happily. "Best mommy in the world." 

"I bet." 

Chloe's eyebrows furrowed as she carried a basket of laundry toward her bedroom, pausing when she heard her son talking to someone. Matthew was in the living room watching Aladdin. "Michael? Who are you talking to, honey?" 

Michael looked over to where his mom was standing, "My friend, Mommy." 

It took her a moment to understand and a faint smile touched her lips. "What's your friend's name?" 

He shrugged, "He won't tell me." 

"Oh. Well, tell him I said hello." She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. 

"Okay." He turned around, "Mommy says hi." 

"Oh. Well, tell him I said hello." She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. 

"Okay." He turned around, "Mommy says hi." 

Chloe winked at him and headed back down the hall to her room. 

"Your mom's very pretty." 

Michael beamed. "I know." 

"She's probably the prettiest mom in the world." 

He nodded his agreement, returning to playing with his cars. 

"So, is there anyone else in the house that's cool or anything?" 

"Uncle Sam's at school. My brother Matthew's watching a movie. But he's kind of annoying." 

"Kind of annoying?" 

Michael nodded a little. "He hits me with his toys a lot." 

"Aw, well that's not nice." 

He felt a moment of guilt. His mom was always telling him and Matthew to be nice to each other and most of the time they got along just fine. "He's not bad though." 

"So you have fun with him?" 

"Most of the time." 

"Until he starts hitting you with his toys." 

He grinned. "Yeah. 'cept then." 

"Well, it's good you still like him." 

"So how come you won't tell me your name?" 

"Cause it's a secret. Don't you like secrets?" 

He frowned a little. "Sometimes. Is it a good secret?" 

"It can be." 

"Like a game?" 

"Yeah, like a game." 

Michael grinned, his cheeks dimpling a little. "I like games!" 

"Good! Then this'll be a fun game!" 

He nodded eagerly. 

"Maybe one of these days if you play the game right, you'll know my name." 

Michael smiled again. He hoped he could play this new game because he really wanted to know. 

***

It was late that evening when Sam got in from a night class. Chloe was sitting curled up on the sofa with a mug of coffee in her hands, watching the news with a frown on her face when he walked in the front door. A sudden nervousness twinged in her stomach as she thought about the night before and the almost-kiss. "Hey. How was class?" 

Sam blew out a breath and plopped onto the sofa next to her, "I need to stop with the night classes...I swear." 

"That bad, huh?" She glanced at him sideways. 

He shrugged, "They're just...blah..." 

Chloe gazed at him for a minute. "I promised the boys you'd tell them goodnight when you got in," she said softly, tucking some hair behind her ear. 

"In other words, I'll go in there and they'll both attack me." He said with a slight smirk. 

"Sounds about right. I doubt they're asleep." 

"Do they _ever_ fall asleep when they're supposed to?" 

"Rarely if ever." Chloe grinned. "They like to see you before they fall asleep." 

He smiled sadly, "Yeah." 

She took a long sip of her coffee, gazing blankly at the television screen. "They're really lucky to have you," she whispered. 

Looking down, he began to play with his hands, "I guess." 

Chloe drew in a breath, hating the awkward tension that lay between them. "Sam..." 

Sam stopped her with the shaking of his head, "No, don't." 

She bit her lip. "Are we okay?" she whispered. 

"Yeah...we're fine." He said, grabbing her hand. 

Relaxing a little, she leaned back against the sofa, not pulling her hand away. "Michael has a new friend," she said with a small smile. 

"He does?" 

"Of the invisible, imaginary kind." 

He chuckled, "Oh that's fun." 

"I'm actually a little worried," she admitted, glancing at him sideways. 

Sam raised and eyebrow and frowned, "Why?" 

"Well, I had an imaginary friend when I was his age and...it was because I was lonely." She bit her lip. "I didn't have any friend and Lois...well, her family moved a lot because her dad was in the military..." 

"I don't know Chloe...he _could_ be feeling lonely, so he wants someone that he can really confide in." 

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Maybe I should take some time off from work," she murmured, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand. "Be here for both of them more often." 

"Maybe you guys need a vacation." He suggested. 

Chloe was quiet for a moment. "Am I a bad mother?" 

Sam was shocked at her question, "No. Chloe, you're anything _but_ a bad mother." 

"Are you sure?" she whispered uncertainly. "I mean it's not like I really had anything to go by." She swallowed hard, staring into her mug of coffee. "I barely knew my mother and...I don't know, Sam. It just feels like what I do isn't enough." 

"What you do...Chloe, you're an amazing mom. Just look at those two." 

"Maybe," she murmured. 

He shook his head, "There's no maybe about it." 

"As my best friend, I think you're required to say that," Chloe said with a faint smile. 

"Chloe..." 

"You should go tell them goodnight." 

"Not until we talk about this." 

A wry smile touched her lips and she set her cup down on the table and turned so her body was facing him. "All right." 

Putting his fingers together and resting them against his chin, Sam let out a breath, "Alright, what's with this sudden change in attitude with your parenting?" 

She shrugged a little, looking down. "I guess I just have doubts from time to time," she admitted softly. 

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Why?" 

"I don't know. I mean, they're great kids, right?" 

"They are." 

She shut her eyes for a moment. 

"Hey." He put a hand on her shoulder, "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" 

"It's stupid." She bit her lip. 

"Nothing's stupid." 

"When I got to work this morning there was a parenting article on my desk." 

He pressed for more details, "And what'd it say?" 

"Something about...mothers who work too much," she admitted. 

"Chloe...I find it hard to believe that you work too much." He said, frowning, "Considering you're almost always with the boys, and you write most of your stuff from home..." 

"Well someone obviously disagrees." She tried to smile and didn't quite manage it. "I don't know. It just hit me the wrong way, I guess." 

"Well, if it happens again, call me." 

"What, are you gonna come beat up my co-workers?" she asked with a faint smile. 

He smirked, "I might." 

Chloe grinned. "I'll keep that in mind." 

"Good." 

"Now, go." She gave his arm a light, playful push. "Tell the boys goodnight so they can get some sleep tonight." 

"Fine...fine...I'm going." He stood up and walked down the hall. Stopping at the boy's closed doors, he heard snickering coming from inside. Knocking on the door he smirked, "I wonder if there's sleeping boys inside this room. I'm opening the door...and here I come..." 

Michael and Matthew both giggled from their beds. Matthew shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep even as he laughed. 

Opening the door, he stood at the end of the boys beds, "Huh...I guess there's no boys in here...I better leave..." 

"No!" Michael threw back his covers and jumped up to stand on his mattress. 

Grinning, Sam turned around and grabbed Michael and tossed him gently onto the bed. 

He giggled. "Hi, Uncle Sam!" 

"Hey buddy." 

"How was school?" 

"It was good. How was your day? You and Mattie play nice?" 

He nodded. "We missed you." He flung his arms around Sam's neck. 

Sam wrapped his own arms around his small body and smiled, "Missed you guys back." 

"Mommy missed you too." 

He leaned back as Matthew jumped onto the bed beside them and put his head against him, "She did?" 

"Yep. She always misses you when you're gone." Michael smiled. 

"I see." 

Matthew hugged him fiercely and kissed his cheek. "We had hot dogs and mac and cheese for dinner." 

"Oh that sounds really yummy." He hugged Matthew back, and ruffled his hair. 

"Can we go to the park tomorrow?" 

"I dunno..." 

Matthew's face fell. 

"We can go...if you can get your mommy in on it." 

"Yay!" He hugged Sam again. 

"Alright. Now you two need to go to sleep." He said, standing and picking Matthew up. 

He laid his head on Sam's shoulder. "Okay, Uncle Sam." 

Waiting for Michael to lay down, Sam brought the covers around him, "Sweet dreams bud." 

"Night, Uncle Sam." Michael smiled at him and turned over, closing his eyes. 

"Night." Turning around, he cradled Matthew against him until he reached his bed, "Alright you, bed time." 

He smiled against his uncle's shoulder. "Okay." 

Sam lowered the little boy gently to the bed and tucked the covers tightly around him, "You have good dreams too, okay?" 

Matthew nodded. "Night night." 

Smoothing his hair, he smiled, "Night night." And with that, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving the door open a little ways. 

Chloe was shutting off the television when he returned. "How wide awake are they?" 

"I think I got 'em calm." He said, sitting down next to her again, "They want to go to the park tomorrow." 

"Oh." She smiled a bit. "That sounds nice." 

"Yeah, and you're coming." 

"Oh, I am, huh?" Chloe grinned. 

Sam nodded and pulled her into a hug, "Yeah, you are." 

Drawing in a breath, she slid her arms around him, resting her head against his shoulder. His arms enveloped her completely, making her feel safe and warm. Content. 

Smiling slightly, he lay down with her on the couch, "The park's gonna be fun." 

Not for the first time, she was thankful for his presence in their lives. All of their lives--her own included. She was pretty sure she wouldn't have made it without him. Not after Dean had died. "Yeah, it always is," she murmured, closing her eyes. 

Gently stroking her hair, Sam began to drift off himself, glad Chloe had let him stay in hers and they boys' life after Dean had left. He just hoped he could keep up being a good father figure for those two, even if Chloe wouldn't let him get any closer to her. 

***

Sam laughed as he watched the boys wrestle around on the ground. Leaning back on the blanket, he glanced at Chloe and watched her amused look at watching the boys. 

Feeling his gaze on her, she smiled at him. "Perfect day for a picnic." 

"Totally." 

Resting her head on the palm of her hand, she watched the boys playing. She couldn't remember the last time they'd all gone to the park just for fun. It had been far too long and she was starting to think Sam was right--she was in dire need of some down time. 

"Mommy! Come play!" Matthew shouted from where him and Michael were. 

"I'm being summoned." She flashed a grin at Sam and slowly stood up. 

Sam laughed and watched her go to her children. He didn't know how Chloe could ever doubt her parenting skills. She was the perfect mom, always caring about her children before worrying about herself. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he rested his chin on his knees, still smiling at the three of them playing. 

Chloe tickled her youngest son lightly and grinned as he giggled. "Matthew...go get Uncle Sam," she said in his ear, winking at him as she pulled away. 

Matthew nodded and darted off toward his uncle, tackling him when he got to him.

"Whoa there bud!" Sam said, falling over and sweeping the boy up in his arms. 

"Come play with us," he said eagerly, grinning widely. 

Standing up, he put Matthew down, "Oh...alright." 

He tugged on Sam's hand and led him over to where Michael and his mom were. 

Laughing at the younger boy's eagerness, he walked up to Chloe, "So what are we playing?"

"Tag!" Michael shouted. 

She chuckled as Michael smacked Sam lightly in the arm. "I think that means you're it," she teased. 

Matthew quickly let go of Sam's hand and scampered off. 

Grinning, Sam ran after the boys as they squealed in delight. 

Chloe grinned, as well, tucking some hair behind her ear as she watched. 

"Get mommy!" Matthew squealed, running to the other side of a tree to avoid being tagged. 

"Well, if you say so..." He trailed off and went after Chloe, a wicked glint in his eye. 

It took her a moment to realize Sam had turned away from the boys and was heading straight toward her. "Hey, now..." She backed away slowly, her hands in the air. 

"They told me to!" 

"And so you take orders from five year olds?" Her voice was light, teasing. 

He sprinted toward her and tagged her, "Oh yeah. You bet I do." 

Chloe stuck her tongue out at him. 

"Oh look....another five year old." He teased. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Take it back." 

He stopped, "Take...what back?" 

"The five year old comment." Her eyes were sparkling with mischievousness. 

Sam backed away as he saw her eyes sparkling, "You...uh..." he paused, "I'm...sorry?" 

Chloe grinned at his nervousness. Then she tackled him to the ground, tickling him. A few feet away both Matthew and Michael erupted into a fit of giggles. 

The move took him by surprise, and he didn't have time to stop Chloe from what she was doing. He began to laugh, then he reached his hands up and tickled her himself. 

She laughed, trying to get away as he tickled her ribcage--her only tickle spot. 

"There's no escape now!" He said, laughing harder. 

"We'll help you, Mommy!" Matthew ran over and began to help tickle Sam. 

Michael followed his brother and helped him get his uncle off his mom.

Sam immediately let go of Chloe as the boys got on top of him, "Oh no! You've got me!" He fell over, and became still on the ground. 

"Uncle Sam?" Matthew suddenly sounded worried, peering closely at his closed eyes. 

Michael looked at him as well, then looked at his mom, "Mommy, I think we broke Uncle Sam." 

"I very much doubt that." She smiled and kissed his cheek, kneeling down and tickling his stomach, grinning victoriously when he laughed. "See?" 

Matthew grinned. 

Smiling, Michael plopped himself down on top of Sam's stomach, "Silly Uncle Sam."

Sam let out an 'Oomph!' as Michael sat on him, "Yeah...silly me...I'm trapped." 

She smiled at him. 

Matthew tugged on his brother's sleeve. "Can we ask now?" 

Michael stopped, then looked between Sam and Chloe, "I don't know..." 

Raising her eyebrows, she looked at Sam as if to ask if he had any idea what was going on. 

He shrugged and put his arms behind his head, propping it up so he could see better. 

Matthew turned to look at Chloe, his eyes wide. "Mommy, we want a doggie." 

Michael nodded, "Yeah, we want a dog." 

Chloe smiled. "Dogs are a lot of work, guys." 

"We'll do it all!" Matthew said, bouncing up and down. "Pwease?" 

Sam looked over at Chloe, "It'd be fun to have a dog..." 

She was amused at the near-pleading look in Sam's eyes. "We'll talk about it, okay?" She kissed Matthew's forehead. 

Smiling, Michael bounced up and down on Sam, "Yay!" 

Chloe chuckled, then flinched involuntarily when a sound loud clap of thunder sounded overhead. Her eyes widened and she looked up at the sky which was quickly growing gray with clouds. "Okay, guys, I think it's time to head back to the car." 

Sam nodded in agreement and began to sit up, Michael sliding off him as he did so, "I'll get everything together." 

She smiled faintly at him, taking Matthew by the hand and starting toward the car. Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she paused, turning around to look behind her. 

Frowning at Chloe's look, Sam took their things under his arms and grabbed Michael's hand, "Everything okay Chlo'?" 

She scanned the area but didn't see anyone. "Yeah," she murmured, nodding a little. "Let's get going." She led the way back to the car, unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching them. 

Nodding, he followed her, talking to Michael all the way back.

As the family made their way to the car, a figure smiled from behind a tree. Yes, she was very beautiful. And soon, he would have her. Even if he had to take her by force. 

***

Chloe parked her VW bug in front of the local animal shelter, a small smile on her face as she glanced sideways at Sam, and then at the boys in the rearview mirror. "Now remember, we're just looking. It doesn't mean we have to pick the first dog we see, okay?" 

Both boys nodded excitedly, barely containing their need to hop out of the car. 

Suppressing a grin and amused at her own excitement, she climbed from the car and unsnapped Matthew's car seat while Sam helped get Michael out of the other side. She let her youngest son's weight rest on one hip as she carried him toward the building. 

Michael looked up at Sam as they walked toward the building, "Can we get a puppy?"

Sam laughed, "We'll see, bud, we'll see." 

Chloe grinned at his excited question and slowly lowered Matthew down so he could walk, though she kept hold of his hand. Her nose crinkled at the putrid smell as they walked inside. She led him up toward the counter where a young woman was standing, flipping through a magazine. "Hi there. We'd like to look at the dogs." 

She smiled brightly. "Of course, right this way." She led them back toward a door past the desk. The door opened into a long corridor with fences on either side, dogs barking noisily and some jumping up and rattling the gates. 

Looking around at all the dogs, Sam shot Chloe a questioning look, "We sure we want to do this?" 

She chuckled at his sudden uncertainty. "It's not like we're taking all of them home, Sam." 

"Well, I know that." He said, chuckling himself. Crouching down to Michael's level, he grabbed his shoulders, "Alright, go look around with your brother." 

Grinning, Michael took off after Matthew eagerly. 

Chloe watched them go, her eyes bright. She jumped as a Great Dane leapt up against the fence beside her, barking excitedly. "Whoa, there, Scooby." 

He looked down at the huge dog, "I...don't think we want that one." 

She smiled as she patted the dog's nose lightly and moved on, tucking some hair behind her ear. 

Coming up beside her, he put an arm around her waist, "So what kind of dog would you like?" 

"I don't really know much about dogs," she confessed, glancing up at him. "I've never had one." 

"Well that makes two of us." 

She spotted a medium sized golden retriever a few cages down and moved closer to get a better look. 

Sam stood back and watched Chloe pet the dog through the cage, "Cute." 

"Mommy! Uncle Sam!" Matthew called excitedly. "Come see!" 

Moving away from that cage, he went down to the boys, "What'd you two find?" 

"A puppy!" he said, bouncing up and down with a wide, dimpled smile. 

Michael nodded, "Yeah!" 

Sam raised his eyebrows, "Really? A puppy, huh?" 

"Oh, I don't know, guys," Chloe said hesitantly. "Puppies are even more work than grown dogs. They're hyper and they have to be paper-trained and..." She looked down at the little fluffy furball on the ground, eagerly licking Michael's fingers. 

"See Mommy? He likes us." Michael said eagerly. 

A smile tugged at her lips. 

"She, actually," the young woman who'd walked down the corridor with them said with a friendly smile. "She's 12 weeks old, fully paper-trained, and incredibly well-behaved. She's a favorite among our staff." 

Michael bounced at the news, "Can we have her? Please Mommy? Please?" 

"Pweeease?" Matthew pleaded, turning his puppy dog eyes on her. 

She looked at Sam. "He totally gets that look from you, you realize." 

Sam grinned, "And so what if he does?" 

Chloe shook her head with vague amusement, looking from the boys back to the puppy. "How much?" 

"There's a hundred dollar adoption fee, but all of her shots are currently up to date. She'll have more parvo shots coming up this year, but I can get you a schedule of when as well as a list of local vets, if you'd like." 

"That'd be great." She pulled her checkbook out of her purse. 

Michael looked up with wide eyes, "You mean...we can have the puppy??" 

"Yeah, Sweetheart." She smiled at him. 

Matthew beamed. "Yay!" 

Glad that the boys were happy, he looked at Chloe, "You think you're ready for another animal in the house?" 

"I think we can deal with it," she said with a smile. "Besides. It'd be nice to have another girl in the house...even if she is a dog." 

He laughed, "Yeah, I guess you're right." 

Grinning, she watched as the lady unlocked the cage and picked the puppy up, kissing the top of her head before handing her over to Michael. "Take good care of her. Okay?" 

Michael cuddled the small puppy to him, "I'll take care of her like I take care of Matthew. I promise." 

The words sounded so much like something Dean would say, unexpected tears prickled at her eyes as she quickly turned to head to the counter to write the check. 

Frowning, Sam walked over to her, "You alright?" he asked quietly. 

"Yeah, I'm all right," she said softly, looking at him with a small smile though her eyes shone with unshed tears. 

"Dean?" he whispered. 

She looked down, nodding a little. "Just one of those times, you know?" She swallowed hard. 

He nodded and hugged her, sadness welling in his own heart. 

Chloe closed her eyes, resting her head against his chest as he held her. Drawing in a slow breath, she blinked back the tears. "Sorry," she whispered. 

"You're fine, just fine." He whispered, stroking her back. 

Most of the time she was fine. But the five year anniversary was quickly approaching and the closer it got, the harder the days became. She looked up at him with sad eyes. 

Sam's heart broke as he saw the pain in her eyes. Just this once, he wished he could make it all go away. He wished he could get Dean back, just so he wouldn't have to see that pain. "Um...when did you want to go, you know...see Dean?" 

"I don't know," she whispered, quickly dropping her gaze. Not wanting him to see the truth there. "Soon." 

He nodded, not saying more. 

She set her checkbook on the countertop and began to make out the check as the woman reappeared with Michael and Matthew behind her, the puppy licking Michael's cheek. 

Michael was giggling as the puppy continued, "Mommy, she tickles." 

Chloe smiled softly at the sight. Both of the boys looked so happy, so excited. "She needs a name." 

"We should name her Jasmine!" He said, bouncing. 

"Yeah! Princess Jasmine!" Matthew agreed excitedly. 

Sam smiled sadly at the name, "Jasmine sounds good. What do you think Chloe?"

"Yeah Mommy. Do you like it?" 

"It's perfect," she said quietly, nodding her approval. 

If Michael's smile would've gotten any bigger, his face would have split in two. Looking down at the puppy, he began to pet her with his free hand, "Hiya Jasmine!" 

She licked his fingers in response. 

"I think she likes it!" Matthew beamed and began to pet her, as well. 

Chloe smiled a bit and handed the woman the check she'd made out. "Thanks for everything." 

"No problem," she responded, handing over a packet of information on vets, and taking care of puppies. 

Taking Chloe's hand, Sam watched as the boys began to walk out the door, "Shall we?" 

She looked down at their joined hands, goosebumps cropping up on her skin. "Yeah, let's go." 

"I haven't seen those two this excited in a while." 

"Me either," she admitted, following them toward her car. 

"It's a good sight." He said, smiling slightly. 

Chloe glanced up at him, her eyes filled with warmth. "So is that." 

He raised an eyebrow, "What?" 

"Your smile," she said quietly. 

He blushed, and looked away self consciously, "You should do it more often yourself." 

She gave his hand a light squeeze. "Come on. Let's go home. "

"Right." He said, opening the driver's side door for her. 

"Thanks," Chloe said softly, sliding into the seat and starting the car. 

Nodding, he slid into the passenger side and looked back at the boys, who were giggling as the puppy pranced between the two of them. Maybe a dog was really what they needed. 

* * * 

Chloe sat at her desk in the office of the Herald and Review, chewing on her lower lip as she stared at the screen. When her phone rang, her hand reached out and snatched it up, hoping it was her contact returning her call. "Sullivan," she said formally. 

"Hello Chloe..." 

She paused, her eyebrows furrowing as she searched her mind to face the voice. "Hello?" 

"I know where your children are..." 

Startled, she pulled the phone away from her ear as if it were a snake about to bite her. "Who the hell is this?" she demanded quietly. 

"Someone you'll want to get to know." 

Chloe felt anger rise up within her. "And who would that be? "

The voice laughed, "Soon, you will see." 

The line went dead and she felt a cold chill run down her spine. She slammed the phone down on the receiver, staring at it. 

It was a long time before she regained enough focus back to work on her article. 

* * * 

"Matthew, don't pull on Jasmine's ears! She doesn't like that!" Michael yelled, slapping his brother. 

Matthew's eyes welled with tears. "Mommy!" he screeched. 

"Michael...that wasn't nice to do you know." 

"Well it wasn't nice for him to pull on Jasmine's ears, either." He glared at Matthew and pulled the puppy into his arms. 

"But you shouldn't hit him." 

"What's going on?" Chloe asked wearily, appearing in the doorway just as Matthew burst into tears and ran to her, wrapping his arms around her legs. 

"He hit me!" 

Shocked, she looked at her oldest son. "Did you hit Matthew?" 

"He pulled on Jasmine's ears!" Michael protested, hugging the puppy close. 

She sighed softly and looked down at Matthew. "Matty...don't pull on Jasmine's ears, okay? It could hurt her. She's very little still." 

He nodded tearfully. 

"Michael, don't hit your brother again. If there's a problem, you come and get me or Uncle Sam, all right?" She gazed at him sternly. 

He put his head down, "Yes Mommy." 

Feeling bad at his sad expression, she bit her lip. "Play nicely, boys." She kissed the top of Matthew's head and left the room. 

"Yes, play nice." 

He sighed. "Okay." Michael reluctantly let Jasmine go and watched as she scampered over to Matthew, licking his face. 

"So, you've gotten a dog since the last time we've talked...nice." 

"Her name's Jasmine." 

"Like the princess on Aladdin?" 

He nodded solemnly. "It's me and Matty's favorite movie." 

"Cool. Does your mommy like it?" 

"It's one of her favorites too. But it makes her cry." 

"Now why would it make her cry?" 

Michael shrugged. "Cause she's a girl, I guess." 

"And that's the only reason?" 

"I dunno. Ask her." 

"Now you know I can't do that." 

He frowned. "But why not?" 

"Remember that secret game?" 

"Yeah..." 

"This is part of it." 

"Oh. Okay." He nodded a little, smiling when Jasmine ran back over to him, barking excitedly. 

"So you should ask your mommy why she cries in that movie." 

"Okay, I will." He petted Jasmine.

"Michael, who are you talking to?" Matthew asked curiously, sticking a finger in his mouth. 

"My friend." He replied, continuing to pet the dog, "He says you shouldn't put your finger in your mouth." 

"How come?" 

He smiled, "Cause he said it'll make your finger fall off." 

Matthew stared at him wide-eyed and pulled his finger out of his mouth immediately. 

Michael smirked at his younger brother, "I bet it'll fall off anyway now." 

"You're a poopie head." He stood up and headed out of the room without looking back. 

He followed him out, "Mommy! Matthew's calling me names!" 

Lying on her bed, Chloe pressed a hand to her face, her head pounding. 

"I think you might wanna leave your mommy alone for a while." 

"Why? Is she sick?" 

"Something like that. Maybe if you use your soft voices, then you can go in and see her." 

Worried now, Michael nodded solemnly. "Okay." He tiptoed down the hall to his mom's room. "Mommy?" 

She sat up slowly, forcing a smile. "Yeah, honey?" 

"Is you sick?" Matthew asked from behind his brother. 

"No, Mommy's just tired." She patted the bed lightly and watched as they both scampered up on it. 

Michael kissed her cheek, "Then you should sleep." 

"You guys wanna take a nap with me?" 

They both nodded with wide smiles. 

She smiled faintly and moved over so they could settle in, and she pulled the blankets over them, yawning even as her head pounded. "Sweet dreams, babies," she whispered, closing her eyes. 

"Sweet dreams back Mommy." Both of them echoed. 

She kissed each of their foreheads before she dozed off into a light, dreamless slumber. 

***

Sam yawned as he finally pushed open the front door to the house. Class actually hadn't been that bad today, in fact, he thought he'd learned something to help Chloe. Putting his bag down near the door, and hanging his jacket up, he walked into the front room, only to find Chloe asleep on the couch, Michael and Matthew asleep on the floor beside her. He smiled, it was almost the perfect family picture, the only thing missing was...Dean. 

A pang of guilt ran through him, and he tried not to think much of it as he went around to get dinner started. 

She murmured in her sleep and woke up with a start, feeling a new presence in the house and relaxing when she saw Sam's bag. She closed her eyes momentarily and then rose to her feet, smiling down at the boys as they lay asleep on the floor, Jasmine curled up between them. She slowly headed into the kitchen. 

Hearing a noise from behind him, Sam turned away from the stove, "Hey, you're up." 

"Whatcha makin'?" she asked softly, yawning as she sat down at the counter. 

"Tacos." 

"Sounds good." She offered him a small smile. "How was class?" 

"Productive." He said, turning to the stove and stirring the mix he had on. 

"Always a good thing." Chloe drew in a breath and glanced toward the silent living room. "Did you lock the door?" 

He gave her a puzzled look, "No..." 

Feeling a flash of fear, she slid off the stool and quickly headed to the door, turning the both locks and sliding the chain-lock across the door, as well. 

"Chloe..." Sam called from the kitchen, "What's going on?" 

"Shh," she shushed him, glancing down at the sleeping boys and moving back into the kitchen. Her eyes were worried as she gazed at him. "I had a creepy phone call at work today." 

He raised his eyebrow, "What kind of creepy?" 

Leaning on the counter, she bit her lip. "He said he knew the kids...asked if I knew where they were." 

"...And do you know where the call came from?" 

"No. I tried star 69, but...it was blocked. And it wasn't long enough to get a trace." She sighed softly. 

"I think you should stay home for a few days then." He said, "I'll skip my classes, and we'll figure it out." 

"No. You don't need to skip classes," she said firmly. "It was just somebody's really lame idea of a prank call." 

He frowned, "I don't like it Chloe." 

"I don't either, though it's oddly familiar." 

He raised an eyebrow, "How so?" 

"I was from Smallville," she reminded him, looking at the counter. 

"Oh, right." He sighed, "Still, I don't want you going anywhere." 

"So you think this is something to worry about?" she asked nervously. 

"Always better to be cautious." He said, turning off the stove so the food wouldn't burn. 

Chloe bit her lower lip, winding her arms around herself. "Right." 

Coming around the counter, Sam gathered her in a hug, "We'll figure this out." 

"I know," she murmured, sighing softly as she relaxed in his arms. 

After a minute of silence, giggling was heard in the front room, and Michael and Matthew were peeking over the back of the couch, "Uncle Sam and Mommy sittin' in a tree..." 

Chloe groaned inwardly and looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "Kids." 

He chuckled, then let her go, "Think we should get 'em?" 

"Definitely." She moved first, swinging Michael up into her arms and blowing kisses on his belly. 

Sam grabbed Matthew and swung him around. Stopping, he held him upside down and listened to him squeal with delight, "So what do you think we should do with these boys?" 

"I don't know." She tickled Michael, grinning at his laughter. "What do you think, Sam?" 

"Hmm...I think we should feed them to that one thing..." He said, grinning at her, mischiveous glint in his eye. 

Her eyes widened with mock surprise. "Good idea." 

"No!" They both screamed. 

Chloe laughed. "No? Are you sure?" 

"We'll be goood!" Michael shouted. 

"Do you believe them?" she asked Sam with an arched brow. 

"I dunno...They're little boys. Pretty hard to believe them..." 

"Well, you were a little boy once." Chloe smiled. 

"Exactly." He said, grinning. 

"Well, I trust you." She looked down at Michael, tickling his ribs. "Should I trust you?" 

He giggled loudly, "Yes Mommy!" 

She planted a kiss on his nose and set him on his feet. "All right then. Go wash up. Uncle Sam's fixing tacos for dinner." 

Sam put Matthew down as well, and he went scampering after his brother, "Tacos!!" 

She chuckled, watching the boys head down the hall excitedly. "Hmm...are they excited because it's tacos ore because I'm not cooking?" she teased. 

Laughing, Sam shook his head, "I'm sure it's just because it's tacos. Those boys happen to think their mom is the best cook ever." 

"They're slightly biased." She grinned. 

"Well, that's the way it should be." He said, shrugging. 

Chloe gazed at him intently for a moment. 

"What? I'm just-" He was cut off by shouting coming from the kitchen, "Uncle Sam! Mommy! Come quick!!" 

Chloe's face grew pale with worry as she rushed toward the kitchen. "What happened?" 

Matthew and Michael both pointed to the glasses on the counter. All four of them were moving.


	2. Chapter 2

She froze in her tracks, staring in horror. "Sam!" There was alarm in her voice.

Sam watched the glasses move across the table, "Chloe, get the kids, and get out."

Grabbing Michael's hand, she hefted Matthew up onto her hip. "You're coming with us," she said, looking at Sam.

He shook his head, "Just get out."

She set Matthew on his feet once more and turned to look at Michael. "Take your brother outside. Don't look back," she said urgently.

Michael looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes, "Mommy?"

"It's okay, Sweetheart. I promise we'll be right there. Go."

He shook his head, "Don't wanna leave you."

"Michael, go. Now," she said firmly, pointing toward the door.

Tears began to run down his face, and he nodded, grabbing his brother's hand and running out the door.

She whirled around to face Sam, grabbing his arm. "Come on."

He shook his head, "Chloe. Go with the boys."

"Damn it! I already lost one man I love to this insanity! I'm not going to lose another!" Tears welled in her eyes.

"I promise I'll come out, just go." He whispered urgently. 

"Yeah. Dean promised that too," she whispered back, her voice breaking as she turned and headed for the door.

When she was out the door, he ran to his bag and grabbed his gun, "I'll come out." He whispered.

She wrapped her arms around her kids as they each buried their faces against one of her shoulders. "It's gonna be okay," she whispered, holding them close.

As Sam watched the cups, gun cocked, they stopped moving. "What the hell..." backing slowly away from the kitchen, he made his way out the door, gun still pointed at the house.

They obviously would not be staying at the house tonight. She pressed a kiss to both of the boys' foreheads. "Boys, I want you to go get in the Impala, okay?"

"What about Jasmine?" Matthew whimpered tearfully. "And Mr. Bean?"

She rose to her feet. "I'll get them. I'll be right back." Raising her chin up, she moved back toward the house.

"Chloe. You are _not_ going in there." Sam said, grabbing her arm.

She yanked her arm away from him, giving him a glare that used to scare even Dean. "I'm going to get my dog, and Matthew's bear." Without giving him a chance to argue, she headed up the porch steps and back into the house. Jasmine was barking excitedly and she quickly knelt down and scooped her up into her arms, her body trembling as she headed down the hallway.

As she got to the boys' door, it opened for her.

It was all too familiar of a reminder of that night almost five years ago. She hesitated to step inside the room, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

Toys moved out of her way as she walked over to Matthew's bed, where his worn teddy bear was lying.

With a shaking hand, she reached out and grabbed Mr. Bean, and then the bear that lay on Michael's bed, as well. Then she headed out into the hallway, a frightened scream escaping her when a figure stepped out of the shadows. "Christ, Sam, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I told you not to come back in here." He said quietly, gun pointed toward the ground.

"And I asked you to come with us, but you didn't." She avoided his eyes as she moved past him, heading toward the door.

Sighing, he followed her out the door, tucking his gun into the back of his jeans, "You know why I didn't leave."

Chloe didn't respond as she walked toward the Impala, moving to get in the passenger side.

Getting into the driver's side, he looked over at her, "Okay, how in trouble am I?"

Tears stung her eyes as she stared out the passenger side window. "Boys, are you buckled in?"

"Yes, Mommy," Matthew said, sniffling. He held his hands out toward her when she passed him his bear.

"Just drive, Sam," she said almost inaudibly.

He nodded and pulled away from the house without another word.

* * *

Chloe lay awake in bed long past Midnight, listening to the sounds of Michael and Matthew's steady breathing. It was peaceful, but not enough to lull her to sleep. Not tonight. Not after what had happened. Beside her, Jasmine stirred on the bed and lifted her little head up to look at Chloe. She absently reached a hand out and petted her gently, freezing when she heard the soft knock on the door.*

"Chloe?" The voice was soft.

If it was possible to be tense and relax all at once, that's what hearing Sam's voice did to her at that moment. Casting a glance at her sons, she slowly climbed out of bed and moved toward the door, pulling it open. Her expression was wary, her eyes unreadable. "What?"

"Can we talk?"

She blew out a breath. "The boys are asleep."

"Please?" His voice was almost begging.

Chloe shut her eyes for a moment, glanced back at the boys over her shoulder and slowly slipped outside onto the balcony with him in the semi-darkness.

Taking a breath, he tried to figure out a way to start the conversation, "Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"What I said earlier?" she repeated in confusion, shaking her head a little.

He bit his lip, "That you...loved me."

Chloe stared at him, her face paling. Had she said that? Her heart sank as she realized she did, recalling the words that had slipped out uncontrollably. She swallowed hard, looking down at the concrete beneath their feet, her heart thudding in her chest.

"You know what, I shouldn't have said anything." He said, putting his hands in his pockets and turning to go.

"Sam, wait," she whispered, pained at the sound of the hurt in his voice.

He stopped and turned around.

Drawing in a breath, she met his eyes and was silent for a moment. "It wasn't a lie," she admitted in a whisper.

"It...wasn't?"

"No." Her voice was quiet and she looked down again. "The truth is...I think...some part of me's always loved you, Sam. But..."

"But you think you'd be betraying Dean." He finished softly, "It's okay, I get it."

She leaned against the railing heavily, rubbing her face with both hands wearily, feeling like she'd aged a couple decades in the past five years. "The thought of losing you too..." Her voice was strained. "It hurts so bad. I just..."

He pulled her into a hug, "I won't leave you."

Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his collarbone. "This isn't fair to you."

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean...you should be with someone who...can be with you back," she whispered, blinking back tears.

"If I did that, who would be there for you and the boys?" he asked quietly.

"Sam, you could still be there for us. I wouldn't...I would never keep the boys from you."

"I know, but..." He bit his lip, "I just don't want to leave you guys alone."

Chloe looked at the ground. "Dean would have wanted you to have a normal life. To have a wife and kids of your own," she whispered.

Grabbing her chin, Sam gently lifted it so she was looking at him, "Dean also would want you three taken care of."

She swallowed hard at the look in his eyes. "I know," she whispered.

"So I think this is perfectly fair." He whispered back.

Wordlessly, she slid her arms around his waist, closing her eyes. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we gonna do about the house?"

"Exorcism, I think."

"So you think it's a demon? Or...an evil spirit of some kind?" She pulled away and looked up at him worriedly.

He nodded silently.

Chloe swallowed hard, her heart heavy for another reason. "Why our house, Sam? Do you think it's because..." She didn't dare finish that thought.

He shook his head, "I don't know."

She rubbed the back of her neck and looked out over the dark parking lot.

"Look, I'll get an exorcism from my dad's journal tonight, and we'll get it out tomorrow, sound good?"

Chloe nodded slightly. "I'll drop the kids off at Janna's," she murmured. On very rare occasions, Janna Caulfield babysat for Michael and Matthew when neither she nor Sam could be with them.

"Alright." Leaning forward, Sam kissed her gently on the forehead, "Get some sleep."

"You, too." She paused at the door, turning to look at him again. "Hey, Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry about earlier." Her voice was quiet and she met his gaze.

He smiled at her, "It's all good."

"But for the record, if you scare me like that again, I reserve the right to smack you." A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

He chuckled and nodded, "I'll remember that."

Chloe smiled at him and then disappeared into her room.

After Chloe was safely back in her room, Sam walked down to his own room. Entering the room and falling down onto the bed, thoughts swimming in his head about him, Chloe, and the future.

* * *

Sam was the first one to walk back into the house the next day after they'd dropped off the kids at the babysitter's house. Opening up his book to the exorcism he'd found, he motioned for Chloe to follow him in, "Alright...got everything we need?"

Chloe drew in a breath, stepping into the house nervously. "Yeah." She carried the bag of candles and rock salt over her shoulder. "This is weird," she whispered. "I don't feel anything here."

"Yeah...neither do I..." He mumbled, looking around the house.

She was silent for a moment, suddenly having second thoughts. She bit her lower lip, looking at the four glasses that had been floating the night before, now sitting firmly on the countertop. "Well, if you guys hadn't seen it, I'd probably think I was going crazy."

Smiling slightly, Sam reached for the bag she was carrying, "Good thing we saw it then."

She handed it to him. "What if it wasn't a spirit or a demon?" she asked hesitantly. 

"Then I guess...we'll find another way to get rid of it."

"That's not what I meant."

"What do you mean then?" He asked, taking things out of the bag they'd need for the exorcism.

Chloe bit her lip. "Well...we know I'm meteor-infected," she said in a barely audible voice.

He stopped, "Chloe, I seriously doubt this has anything to do with that."

She looked uncertain. "Maybe not."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "It doesn't."

Meeting his eyes, she nodded slightly. "Okay." He looked so certain she couldn't help but believe him.

Making sure everything was in place, Sam stood and grabbed the journal, "Ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said wryly, looking around.

Nodding, he began to recite the exorcism.

Chloe held her breath, waiting for the moment when things began to fly around the room. That moment never came. Sam finished the Latin verses uninterrupted and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him. "Okay..."

He closed the book and frowned, "That was...anticlimactic..."

"No kidding. Has something like this ever happened before?"

"Uh, no."

"What do you think's going on?" she asked anxiously.

He shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know anymore."

She bit her lower lip. "Do you think whatever it is...is gone now?"

He looked around, "I guess we'll just have to see."

"Sam, I don't wanna bring the kids back here if there's any chance..."

"Well, if there was something in here, this exorcism would be sure to take it out." Sam said, tucking the book under his arm.

"Yeah, I guess so." She gazed at him.

Pulling her into a hug, "I'll make sure nothing happens to you or the boys."

"Or you," she said quietly.

"That too." He whispered.

"Promise?" Chloe pulled away and looked up at him.

"Promise."

She swallowed hard, nodding. "You know..." She paused and looked toward the hallway. "When I came back in here after Jasmine and Mr. Bean..."

"What happened?"

Chloe looked at him. "The kids' door opened for me...all the toys moved out of the way. Almost like..."

He blinked, "Like it was helping you?" he finished.

"Yes," she whispered.

"That's...huh..."

"I know." She wound her arms around herself. "Is there a such thing as a...you know, benevolent spirit?"

He scratched his head, "Well, I suppose it's possible...but since those never get reported..."

"This is weird."

"You can say that again."

Chloe glanced at him. "Well, I guess whatever it was...is gone now."

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair, "Want me to go get the boys?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

Nodding, he walked toward the door, "I'll be back in five."

She watched him leave the house before she turned around in a circle, as though waiting for something to float across the room. When nothing did, she slowly sat down on the sofa, her gaze resting upon the picture frame on the coffee table. It was a picture of Dean holding Michael. She slowly picked it up, gazing at it for a long moment. Suddenly feeling anxious, she rose to her feet, scribbled Sam a note, and headed out the door.

* * *

As promised, Sam was back five minutes later with Matthew in his arms and Michael beside him with Jasmine struggling in his arms, "Chloe, we're back!"

When he didn't get a response, he walked into the kitchen and saw the note on the counter telling him that she'd be back soon. Putting it down, he walked over to the couch and put Matthew down, "So, your mom's gone, what do you guys want for dinner?"

"Cheeseburgers!" Matthew said, standing up.

Sam smiled, "Cheeseburgers it is."

Michael set Jasmine down on the floor, heading toward their room.

"Hey, you came back. I got bored."

"Me too," he said, flopping down onto his bed. "Mommy was freaked out."

"Aw, what for?"

"These glasses started floating in the air."

"I see..."

"I think she thinks our house is haunted," Michael said with a frown.

"Really now."

He nodded. "And she got really upset with Uncle Sam."

"Now why would she do that?"

"Well, he didn't wanna leave when we did."

"Why not?"

"I dunno." Michael shrugged.

"Maybe you should ask that too." 

His eyebrows furrowed. "Really?" 

"Well, if you don't know something, don't you think you should find out about it?" 

“I guess so." 

"So...what are you waiting for?" 

"You want me to ask Uncle Sam now?" 

"Why not? Got anywhere else to be?" 

"No," he admitted, sliding off his bed and heading out of the room, down the hall and into the kitchen. He watched his uncle as he cooked burgers for them. "Uncle Sam?" 

Sam turned around, "Yeah buddy?" 

"How come you didn't leave with us last night when Mommy wanted you to?" 

He furrowed his eyebrows at his nephew's question, "Why do you want to know?" 

Michael shrugged a little. "I just wanna know." 

Turning around, he flipped the burgers and bit his lip, "Well buddy, I had to make sure everyone was out of the house, and that things were safe." 

He frowned and climbed up onto one of the stools, his elbows on the  
counter. "Safe from what? The ghost?" 

Sam stopped at that comment, "What do you mean ghost?" 

"Well, isn't that why those cups were moving by themselves?" he asked uncertainly. 

He smiled at Michael, he was quick, just like Dean, "Well, something like that." 

"Is it gone now?" 

"Yeah bud. It's gone." 

He nodded a little, satisfied. "How come Mommy was so upset that you wouldn't come with us?" 

"She was just...scared." 

"Of the ghost?" 

He nodded, "Yeah. That." 

"I didn't think Mommy got scared." His eyebrows furrowed. 

Turning off the stove so the burgers wouldn't burn, Sam walked over to where Michael was sitting, "Well, sometimes when scary things like that happen, Mommy's get scared." 

"Oh." He nodded a little. 

"Why don't you go get your brother and wash up? Dinner's ready." 

"Okay." He slowly slid down off the stool and headed toward the hallway, pausing and turning around. "Uncle Sam? Are you and Mommy gonna get married?" 

Sam fumbled at the answer, "Uh...I don't know bud. I- who knows." 

“But you want to marry her, right?" he asked innocently. 

"Just go wash up." He said quietly, forcing a smile. *

Michael frowned a little bit, but headed away without argument. 

Turning back to the burgers, Sam let out a sigh. He really wished he could've answered his nephew's question, but right now, he didn't know if him and Chloe would ever be anything more. 

***

A little while later, Chloe returned with a quiet entrance, finding Sam and the boys around the kitchen table eating. She forced a smile. "I'm just gonna wash up, guys. I'll be back." She headed for the bathroom. 

Putting down his burger, Sam rose, "I'll be back too." He followed Chloe down the hall. 

Chloe washed her face with a cool washcloth, forcing herself to take a deep breath. The soft knock on the door startled her and she glanced up. "Yeah?" 

"Where'd you go?" 

She paused at the sound of Sam's voice. "I had to run an article into work." 

He sighed, "Alright." 

“Thanks for making dinner, Sam." 

"No problem." He said, walking away from the door. 

She closed her eyes, letting her shoulders slump. She knew he knew she was lying. 

Sitting back at the table, Sam forced yet another smile in front of the boys, "Good dinner?" 

Matthew nodded enthusiastically. "Yummy!" 

"Good, that's good bud." He looked over at Matthew, "What about you?" 

Michael nodded, too, though he was glancing toward the hallway with a worried expression on his face. "It's good, Uncle Sam."

"Well, it definitely smells good," Chloe said with false cheer as she slipped into the room and sat down. 

Sam nodded silently, then finished his burger. Standing, he took his plate to the sink, "I've got a class to get ready for, I'll be back later."

She swallowed hard, guilt sweeping over her. She slowly stood up and moved over to the sink. "Sam--" 

Putting the plate in the sink, he didn't look at her, "I'm gonna be late." 

She dropped her head, tears prickling at her eyes. "Okay." 

Walking around her, he quickly said goodbye to the boys, picked up his bag, and was out the door. 

She swallowed hard, falling silent. If there was one thing she was really good at, it was screwing things up.

And this time...she wasn't sure if she could fix them. 

* * *

He watched as the man finally left from her house. She was finally alone with the boys. He could make his move, but it didn't seem right, he needed to give her flowers, other things. Get her to like him. Yes, and there was one place he could always go to see her by herself. Always that one place. 

* * *

Chloe lay curled up on the sofa with her feet underneath her. She didn't bother turning the television on--it wasn't like she'd be able to focus on it anyway. Instead, she simply sat alone in the darkness, listening to the silence of the house.

It was nearly 11 when she heard the Impala pull into the driveway and she bit her lower lip, suddenly feeling nervous. 

Sam didn't get out of the car immediately. He sat in the silence, wondering what was going to happen once he went back into the house. Sighing, he got out of the car and headed in, 'No use delaying the inevitable.' 

She held her breath as she heard the door open and she winced a little as Sam flipped on a lamp. "Hey," she whispered. 

"Hey." He whispered back, putting down his bag. 

Chloe swallowed hard. "Sam, I'm sorry." Her voice was strained. 

Sighing, Sam ran a hand through his hair, "It's okay." 

"No, it's not." Her eyes were sad. *

"Well, it's in the past." 

"I was at the cemetery." 

That caught him off guard, "You were?" 

She bit her lip, nodding slightly and looking down at the floor. "I go every day," she admitted softly. 

"Oh." 

She slowly sat back down on the sofa once more. 

Walking over to the front room, he sat down in a chair beside the sofa, "That's...good for you." 

Chloe tried to smile but didn't quite manage it. 

"At least you go." He said quietly. 

She slowly turned her head to look at him. "When was the last time you went?" 

"It's been a while." He said, putting his head down. 

"Sam..." She paused for a moment. "It's different for everyone." 

"Yeah, but I should go more often." 

"We could...go together," she whispered. 

"I...guess." He said. 

"Or not." She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. 

"I just-" He sighed, "Yeah, we really should go." 

"It's okay if you're still upset with me." Her voice was quiet as she rose to her feet. 

He looked up, "No, I'm not. I just...wish you would've told me sooner." 

She bit her lower lip, nodding slightly and slowly heading for the hallway. "Night, Sam," she whispered. 

Leaning back against the chair, Sam closed his eyes, "Night." 

Sad and tired, Chloe headed down the hall to her bedroom, feeling more alone than ever. 

* * *

_Chloe stood on the beach, her blonde hair tousled gently by the warm summer breeze as she stared out across the water, watching the sun begin to set. Letting out a slow breath, she closed her eyes for a moment._

_"Enjoying yourself?"_

_A soft smile tugged at her lips at the sound of his voice. "Could be better."_

_"Uh huh...and how could it be better?"_

_"Well, you could be holding me for one," she whispered, not turning around._

_Arms enclosed her slim frame, "You mean...like this?"_

_Chloe nodded and leaned back against him. "Exactly like this."_

_"Well then, I guess I can do this."_

_She turned her head slightly to gaze at him. "I've missed you," she whispered._

_He smiled sadly, "I've missed you more."_

_"Wanna bet?" Chloe's eyes were sad as she lightly brushed her lips against his._

_He deepened the kiss, "I dunno. I've really, really missed you."_

_She lifted a hand to Dean's cheek, turning in his arms so she was facing him._

_He smiled widely, "There's those pretty green eyes."_

_She smiled back at him, leaning her forehead against his. "It's been too long," she whispered._

_"I know."_

_She slid her arms around him, resting her head against his shoulder._

_Dean pulled her close to him, "But I also know you're doing alright."_

_"Are you kidding? Not even close," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes._

_"Yes you are." He whispered, kissing the top of her head._

_"How can you say that?"_

_“Because it's true."_

_"I don't feel like I'm doing alright, Dean," Chloe murmured._

_"But you are. Look at what you've done. Raised amazing boys, kept Sam around..."_

_She sniffed, but didn't pull away. "We need you."_

_He shook his head, "No you don't."_

_A tear trickled down her cheek. "Being here without you...it hurts so bad."_

_"I know it does. I know." He kissed her again, "But you're gonna be alright."_

_She swallowed hard. "How much do you know?" she whispered._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"How much do you know about what's going on?" Her voice was quiet._

_"Not a whole lot...I mean, I know that you have two boys now...and Sam's helping you out."_

_She nodded slightly._

_He paused, "Oh, and I know I'm sorry for breaking my promise."_

_Her eyes were sad. "Me too." She reached out and touched his cheek._

_He brought his own hand up and covered hers with his, "So, you wanna tell me about these boys?"_

_Pressing a soft kiss to his lips, she slowly sat down on the soft sand, pulling him down alongside her. "Michael is just like you."_

_Pulling her back into his arms, Dean smiled, "I knew that'd happen."_

_"And Matthew...is just like Sam." She smiled softly, leaning against him comfortably._

_"Matthew..." He trailed off, "God, I wish I could be there."_

_"I wish you could too." She shut her eyes, the ache in her heart swelling._

_He put his hand over her heart, "This ache...this will go away."_

_"I don't think so," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes._

_"It'll get more bearable."_

_"Dean, it's been five years."_

_"I think it's time to let go then." He said quietly._

_"No."_

_Dean nodded, and his image began to flicker, "It's time."_

_"No, please. Please don't go," she begged, tears spilling down her cheeks._

_"I'll always be there." He whispered, image fading completely as the wind began to blow._

A soft sob escaped as she found herself alone once more.

Chloe woke up crying, her face pressed into the pillow. 

"Mommy? Why is you crying?" A little voice asked. 

Her youngest son's voice startled her. "Matthew? What are you doing up?" she whispered. 

He hugged his worn teddy bear to him, "I had a bad dream." 

Brushing the tears off her cheek, she held her arms out to him. "Come here, sweetheart." 

Walking over he crawled onto the bed and into her arms, "Why was you crying?" 

She was quiet for a moment, pressing her lips to the top of his head as she held him. "I had a sad dream," she whispered. 

Matthew hugged her, "I'm sorry Mommy." 

"It's okay." She hugged him back. "What did you dream about?" She smoothed the hair out of his eyes. 

"I dreamed that you got taked away from me and Michael and Uncle Sam."

He shrugged, "I don't know Mommy, but it was scary."

She pressed another kiss to his forehead. "Well, nothing's gonna take me away from you guys, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, Matthew," she whispered.

"Love you too Mommy." At that moment, he yawned and snuggled closer to her, "Don't be sad."

Chloe forced a small smile and cradled his small form to her own. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Night night."

It didn't take him very long before he was out like a lot, safe with his mom. It took her much longer to go back to sleep, however. And when she did, she dreamt of happier times--her and Dean still very much in love and on the road together.

* * *

Chloe was in the middle of fixing a big pot of vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches when she heard the front door open. She turned to look at the boys, who were sitting patiently at the table. "Michael, will you go see if your uncle Sam wants lunch?"

Michael nodded and ran to the door, only to return moments later, "Mommy! Uncle Sam brought a girl home!"

She was so startled by that revelation she nearly dropped the grilled cheese sandwich she was setting on a plate. "Shit," she said under her breath.

Sam ran into the room after Michael, "Michael!" He looked up at Chloe sheepishly, "She's just a friend..."

"You don't have to explain anything to me," she said quickly. "We'll just...make room for one more." She swallowed hard, turning back to the stove, her heart thumping heavily in her chest.

"Thanks." He said quietly. Walking to the edge of the other room, he smiled slightly, "It's alright Rachel, you can come in."

At the consent of Sam, a tall, pretty brunette walked up to Sam, then looked over at Chloe, "Thanks for having me."

"Of course. Any friend of Sam's is always welcome here," she said with a forced smile. Why did she have to be a brunette? she wondered as she dished out a bowl of soup. "Do you like vegetable soup?"

Rachel nodded, "Love it."

Chloe handed her a bowl of soup. "Make yourself comfortable." She motioned toward the table.

Matthew frowned when she sat down beside him.

Sam sat by her, and smiled, "Rachel, these are my nephews, Matthew and Michael."

Rachel smiled politely, "Hi guys."

She let out a slow breath and moved over to the table, putting food down in front of the boys and Sam and then going back to get food for herself. She sat down between Michael and Mathew.

"Uncle Sam's in love with Mommy," Michael said idly, looking at Rachel as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Chloe choked on the drink of water she'd just taken.

Sam's eyes went wide, "Michael!" he hissed.

Looking over at Sam, he saw the deep blush that appeared on Rachel's face, "I'm so sorry."

Chloe's face was red, as well. She wondered if things could possibly get any worse.

"Mommy loves him too," Michael continued, kicking his feet back and forth.

Apparently they could.

Chloe felt horrible and she looked across the table at Sam and Rachel. "Kids," she said with a faint, nervous laugh.

Rachel looked down, "Yeah. Kids."

She swallowed hard and looked down as well, missing the sight of the grilled cheese flying through the air right at Sam's head.

Sam's head jerked back in surprise as the sandwich slammed into his head, "What the-"

She looked up in time to see the rest of the sandwiches from the plate on the counter flying toward him. She stared in horror, open-mouthed.

Michael watched in fascination.

Rachel let out a small scream as she watched the sandwiches continue to hit Sam.

Finally, Sam stood up and grabbed Rachel's hand, "God, I'm so sorry, I'll call later, okay?"

She nodded, not hesitating to run out the door.

Chloe covered her mouth with one hand, looking at the mess that was now all over the floor. "Michael, you and Matthew take your food and go to your room, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy." He grabbed his plate and Matthew's hand and led him away.

After Rachel had left, Sam walked back into the room and surveyed the mess, "Okay...what. The. HELL!?"

"I have no idea," she whispered, still stunned, her face white as a sheet. She slowly sat down in her chair just to avoid her knees buckling under her.

Running a hand down his face, he sighed, "Alright. We're doing a seance. Now."

"Not with the boys in here, we're not," she said, giving him a look.

"We'll keep them in their room, it'll be okay."

Chloe stared at him. "Are you kidding me? I remember the stories you and Dean used to tell about the horrible things that went wrong. I'm not gonna have them here if that happens."

"We can conceal this thing in a salt circle." He said, going over to his bag and beginning to pull things out of it.

"Sam."

"Trust me."

"I do trust you! But I'm not taking any chances with the boys." She rose to her feet. "I'll take them next door. Mrs. Anderson's home and she'll watch them for a little while."

"Alright. I'll have everything set up by the time you get back, so hurry." He said, now grabbing candles out of the bag.

Frowning, she headed down the hallway and stepped into her son's room. "Come on guys. You're gonna go see Mrs. Anderson for awhile."

Matthew made a face, "She smells like old people though."

A smile quirked her lips involuntarily. "It won't be for long, okay?"

"Okay."

Standing up, Matthew grabbed Michael's hand and the boys followed their mom out of the room.

She quickly took them next door, told Mrs. Anderson she needed to go out for awhile and thanked the woman for agreeing to watch them. She returned to their house less than five minutes later, stepping inside and locking the door.

Sam turned around as Chloe walked in, "Alright, lets do this."

She gave him a nervous look, feeling a cold chill run down her spine. "Okay."

Grabbing her hand, he began to recite the incantation to bring whatever was in their house forward.

Looking around nervously, she felt her heart speed up as the air around them seemed to swirl with sudden energy.

Sam watched as the energy formed into the shape of a body. But what happened next shocked him to the core.

"God, I try to stay all behind the scenes, and you two *insist* on finding a way to get me either out of the house or in your faces."

All the air left Chloe's lungs, her face paling. "Dean," she whispered, trembling as she found herself face-to-face with him.

He turned to Chloe, "The one and only."

Tears welled up in her eyes and one streaked down her pale cheek.

Crouching down to her level, he longed to touch her face, "Hey, no crying."

"I miss you," she whispered, trying to reach out to touch him.

"I believe we discussed this last night." He whispered back.

Her eyes widened in surprise at his words, her mouth dropping open slightly. "But..."

He smiled, "Yeah, I found a loophole into getting into places I shouldn't be..."

"You would," she said with a half-sob, half-chuckle.

"Hey, can't go on without seeing you."

Swallowing hard, Chloe gazed at him. "You left," she said quietly.

"I didn't mean to." He whispered sadly.

"I know." Another tear trickled down her cheek. She slowly turned to look at Sam, who was every bit as pale as she was.

Following Chloe's gaze, Dean settled on Sam and glared at him, "And you...you are an ass."

His eyes widened. "What did I do?" he asked in confusion.

Dean sighed in exasperation, "And you wonder why I threw sandwiches at you."

Sam shook his head, bewildered. "I shoulda known it was you just from that."

"Yeah, but you've always been slow..."

"It's good to see you," he whispered, gazing at his brother with sad eyes.

"Believe it or not, I've been keeping a close eye on you, little brother."

"I believe it," Sam said quietly.

"So, really, what's with you bringing another girl in here?"

"Oh, come on, man, she's just a friend!" Sam protested.

"Yeah...okay."

Feeling uncomfortable, Chloe shifted her weight from one foot to the other, staring down at the floor.

Standing back up, Dean looked at the salt circle around him, "So, can I come out or...am I in trouble?"

Without hesitating, Chloe reached out and wiped some of the salt away, looking up at him once more.

He smiled at her, "Thanks."

God, she'd missed that smile. That smile that made one of her own stretch across her face. "Welcome," she whispered.

"So a little birdie has been telling me things." Dean said casually.

"What things?" Sam asked, glancing at Chloe and then back at the apparition of his brother.

"Oh, the fact that someone scared the *hell* out of another someone by not leaving the house when he shoulda."

"Oh come on, Dean. You woulda done the same thing!" he protested.

Dean held a hand up, "Well, you were just being stupid."

He snorted, folding his arms across his chest in a defensive posture before remembering what was going on. "Well, you scared the hell out of everyone by moving glasses through the air."

"I was just helping...though I knew something like that was going to happen." He smiled, "Speaking of everyone..." He turned in a full circle, "Where's Matthew and Michael?"

"I took them next door," Chloe whispered, rubbing her forehead. "We thought...well, that you were evil."

"Yeah, I know." He said, smiling, "It's all good. You were just being cautious."

"I should go get them." She rose to her feet.

Dean nodded, "That'd be cool. Oh, and Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She gazed at him intently.

"Michael's new friend...don't worry about him."

It only took her a second to put the pieces together. "It was you all along," she whispered.

He smiled, "Yeah."

Tears welled in her eyes, this time for a different reason. "I'll be right back."

"Hurry back." He said softly.

Nodding, she quickly headed out the front door, leaving the brothers alone.

Sam let out a breath, watching her go before turning his eyes back to Dean.

Dean looked back at his brother, "I'd ask if you missed me but...I think I know the answer to that."

"Man, you have no idea," he whispered.

"Well...I'm here for now."

"For how long?" Sam asked anxiously.

Dean shrugged, "Dunno."

He grinned involuntarily. "Man, we've all missed you."

"I know."

Sam gazed at him for a long moment. There was so much he wanted to say, but didn't even have the words.

Rocking back and forth on his heels, Dean let the silence take over for a minute before speaking again, "Mom...says hi."

He sucked in a breath, surprise registering on his face. "What about Dad?" he whispered.

"I think he woulda said hi...but..." Dean made a face, "You know what? You don't wanna know."

He stared at Dean. "What do you mean? Of course I wanna know!"

"Him and mom were all over each other."

Sam stared at him slightly in horror.

Dean laughed at the look, "Told ya."

He started to say something else when the front door open and Chloe reappeared, holding onto Michael and Matthew's hands.

Turning toward the door, he smiled as he saw the boys walk in, "Well would ya look at that."

Both boys froze in their tracks, staring at him for a long moment before looking up at their mom.

Chloe knelt down between them. "It's okay, guys. You know who he is," she whispered.

Matthew shook his head and clung to her.

She hugged him. "Mathew, it's okay, sweetheart," she whispered into his ear.

"But...I'm scared, Mommy." He whispered back.

Torn, she looked over at Dean, and then at Sam, unsure of what to do.

At Chloe's look, Dean walked over to where the three were standing and crouched down, "You know, your brother's talked to me before, Matthew."

Michael eyed him warily, a hint of confusion on his face.

Matthew buried his face in Chloe's shoulder and she closed her eyes momentarily.

Dean looked at Michael, "You can know my name now, game's over."

Surprise flickered over his features. "That was you?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"But...Mommy said you were in heaven," he said in confusion.

"Well, I came back for a while." He said softly.

Hesitantly he reached his hand out toward Dean.

Dean took his hand and smiled.

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise and she stared at Dean, her heart beating quickly in her chest.

"Cool," Michael whispered, his eyes still wide.

Pulling Michael closer to him, he picked him up and stood, "That's exactly what I'd say."

Hugging him fiercely, Michael closed his eyes.

A tear slipped down Chloe's face as she picked up Matthew, meeting Dean's gaze.

Dean hugged him back, "God, I haven't held you since you were a baby..." He looked up at Chloe and Matthew, "And I've never held you."

Sam felt tears prickle at his own eyes at the sight of his brother holding his oldest son. It was a sight he never thought any of them would see, and one he would never forget. "Hey, Matthew. Come here, buddy." He reached out and took the boy from Chloe's arms, pressing a kiss to his head. "This is my brother," he whispered. "Your daddy."

Matthew turned a shy gaze toward Dean, "Daddy?"

Michael smiled at his little brother, one arm flung around Dean's shoulders.

Still a little weary, Matthew still just continued to stare at Dean and his brother.

"It's alright Matthew, I'm not gonna hurt you." Dean said quietly.

"Daddy won't hurt you," Michael agreed quickly. "'member? Mommy said he was the best daddy in the world."

He nodded, "Yeah, I 'member..."

"And Mommy never lies."

Casting one more look at Sam, Matthew moved toward his dad, who quickly took him in his free arm, "Hey there."

"Hi." He said shyly.

Feeling overwhelmed, Chloe pressed a hand to her mouth, swallowing hard. God, she wished she had a camera.

"Camera's in your nightstand drawer." Dean said quietly, looking over at Chloe.

Her eyes widened a little and she quickly moved past them, needing a moment to herself and retrieve the camera.

Looking between his sons, Dean smiled, "So, you gotta tell me all about yourselves. Okay?"

Sam gazed after Chloe, a worried expression on his face.

"Okay!" Michael said with a grin.

"Yes!" Matthew nodded.

"Okay." He put the boys down, "Can you guys hold on for a minute though?"

Michael nodded, looking up at him intently.

Matthew nodded as well.

"Alright, I'll be right back." With that, Dean turned down the hallway and into the bedroom, where Chloe was standing over the nightstand, trembling. "Hey." He said quietly.

She turned toward him, hesitantly reaching out to touch his face. When she made contact with skin, a soft sob escaped her and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He responded to her touch, wrapping his own arms around her, "I miss this."

Chloe pressed her face against his neck. "God, me too. So much," she whispered, her voice strained.

He put his face into her hair, "I love you."

"I love you too. I've never stopped...I don't know how," she whispered, crying softly.

"Shhh..." he began swaying back and forth with her, "I know it's hard."

"You have to stay."

"I...can't."

"But you're here," she whispered, shaking her head.

"I won't be here forever."

"Why not?" She pulled away to look at him, eyes filled with tears.

He looked down, "I just...it's not possible."

Her throat burned along with her eyes as she lifted a hand to his cheek again.

He put his hand over hers, "I'm sorry."

"Me too," she whispered.

Leaning forward, he captured her lips in his.

Closing her eyes, she returned the kiss without hesitation. 

The kiss lasted for several minutes, before Dean pulled back, "I've missed that even more."

"I can't believe you're really here," she whispered, unable to pull her hand away from his cheek.

"You need me." He whispered back. 

"Always." She leaned her forehead against his.

"You need to learn to let Sam in." He said, running a hand through her hair.

Chloe shut her eyes. "Dean..."

He shook his head, "He needs you to let him in."

"I'm trying, I just..."

"Miss me."

She nodded wordlessly.

He sighed, "It's been five years..."

"There's no time limit on grieving," she said quietly, looking at the floor.

Reaching out, he began to rub her shoulders, "I know. But you need someone to grieve with."

She rested her head against his as he massaged her shoulders.

"See, the thing about being...what I am now, is I can sense emotions, read things at times." He took what was supposed to be a breath, "Sam's hurting bad Chloe. He hasn't healed at all."

She winced. "I don't know how to help him," she whispered.

"Let him in. It's all he wants." He whispered back.

Drawing in a breath and letting it out slowly, she kissed him softly.

He kissed her back, pulling her close again.

"Ew! Mommy's kissing Daddy!"

A grin tugged at her lips and she turned to see their youngest son standing in the doorway, making a face. "Yes, she is."

"That's gross Mommy." He said, giggling.

Michael smacked his little brother lightly in the back of the head. "Come on."

Matthew brought his hand to his head and glared, "Mommy! Michael hit me!"

She sighed softly, looking at Dean. "Like I said. He's just like you."

Dean grinned, "That's my boy."

"Come here, Matthew. Michael, don't hit your brother," she said, giving him a look.

Michael pouted, "He deserved it..."

Chloe raised an eyebrow and hugged Matthew. "No, he didn't." She looked at Dean.

Dean crouched down beside Michael, "She's right dude. Even if little brothers get annoying, they don't always deserve to be hit."

She cleared her throat and gave him a stern look.

Dean shrugged at her look, "I'm just sayin'..."

She sighed softly. "You know, Michael, one day Matthew may turn out to be bigger than you."

"Don't listen to her." Dean whispered when Michael began to pout. "Just remember, you're always the big brother."

Sam smirked from the doorway. "Yeah, but look who's taller."

"Still older....well, maybe not now...technically..."

The smirk faded off his face and he looked down at the floor.

Dean winced, "Ah...sorry dude. That came out wrong."

"Yeah," he murmured, trying to shrug it off.

"Sam..."

"It's all right." He picked up Matthew. "You guys want me to watch these two for awhile?" He didn't look at Dean or Chloe.

She bit her lower lip.

Dean stood up, "Actually...You and me need to talk."

"I agree," Chloe said quickly, taking Michael's hand. "And these two need to clean up their room."

Both boys groaned at that.

She rolled her eyes. "I know, I'm so mean," she teased, leading him out of the room and taking Matthew from Sam.

"You are Mommy." Matthew said, nodding.

"I know." She kissed his cheek. "But one day your future wives will appreciate it."

"She's right." Dean piped up, winking at his sons.

Grinning, she turned and winked at him before disappearing into the boys' room with them.

After Chloe had left, he folded his arms and looked at his brother, "Alright, you're telling me what's on your mind, and you're not avoiding this."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "What, _now_ you want a chick flick moment?" A smile tugged at his lips.

Dean smirked, "You forget, I can actually disappear."

He snorted. "Sounds about right."

"Seriously, talk to me."

He blew out a breath, glancing down the hallway. The door to the boys' room was shut and he slowly stepped into Chloe's room and closed the door. "What do you wanna know?"

"Well, I wanna know a lot of things. But I'm gonna let you pick out what's bothering you the most."

He shut his eyes, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "It shouldn't have been like this," he whispered.

"It should." Dean said, sitting down next to his brother.

"No, man." He shook his head. "This is *your* family and you're the one who should be here."

"You're my family too, or did you forget?"

"Dean, that's not--"

"Yeah, it is the point." Dean said, cutting him off. "I saved you."

"You shouldn't have," Sam responded, standing up and turning to look at him. "Dammit, they need _you_! Not me, YOU!"

"You're in love with her."

He winced and looked away. "That's so not the point."

Dean tilted his head to the side, "Really? Because I think it is."

"Dean, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about them needing _you_ now." He said, sighing, "You love her, and you love those boys."

"And I always will, man. That's not gonna change the fact that you're the one they're always going to need."

"Those boys don't know me like they know you." Dean said, smiling sadly, "They need you the most."

"And what about Chloe?" he whispered, shaking his head.

"It'll be hard, but you know what? She already loved you to begin with."

Sam stared at him in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"I mean..." Dean tried to place his words carefully, "She loved you almost like she loves me."

If his brother had just announced that heaven was actually filled with demons, he couldn't have been more surprised. "No..."

He nodded, "Oh yeah."

He swallowed hard, shutting his eyes as his mind reeled from that information.

"And I know you love her back." Dean whispered.

Sam turned away. "And you're actually okay with that?"

He shrugged, "How can I not be?"

"Because she's the love of your life?"

He looked away, not wanting to show his brothers the tears that had just welled up in his eyes, "Well, I'm not alive anymore. Takes care of that."

Sam flinched, resting his head against the wall. "Maybe we could..."

"You say 'bring you back' I'll kick your ass."

"Make a trade," he whispered.

"No." He paused, "You know what? HELL no."

"Why not?" He turned to look at Dean once more. "Dean...all right you saved me. I got five years I wouldn't have had. But...this..." He motioned around. "This is supposed to be *your* life, man. Not mine."

"Well, five years, for one. And, two, I don't want to trade. Forget it."

"You can't tell me you don't wanna be here with Chloe. That you don't wanna see your kids grow up," he whispered.

Dean sighed in defeat, "I do, but my time's done. It's your turn to live it up."

"Not if we can find a way around this." His voice was quiet, determined.

"Sam. No. I won't let you."

Sam looked away, staring at the door.

"Sammy, look at me."

Drawing in a breath, he slowly shifted his gaze to look at Dean once more.

"It's dark magic. Promise me you won't do it." He whispered.

"Dean--"

"Please. Promise me." Dean's voice became a pleading tone.

He shut his eyes. "I promise." His voice was pained.

Slowly walking over to his brother, Dean put his arms around him.

Tears welling in Sam's eyes, he hugged him back tightly. "I miss you, man."

He pat his back, "I miss you too, man. But you've gotta live for both of us now. You need to."

"I don't know how to do that," he whispered, his voice strained.

"Watch my boys. And make Chloe your girl." He whispered back, trying to keep his own tears at bay.

"Dean..."

He shook his head, "Sammy, don't argue."

"It feels like..." He looked at the floor.

"Like what?"

"Betraying you."

"It's not. I'm telling you to do it."

He blew out a breath, shutting his eyes once more.

Dean ached for his brother. He wished that damn demon had never come into their lives, then they'd both still be alive...and safe.

"Look, I really wish it could be different." Dean offered, putting his hands in his pockets." 

"Me too," he said quietly. He turned toward the door as it opened. 

Dean turned as well and watched as Chloe walked back into the room, "Did you get them to do as you commanded?" 

"They're cleaning their room, yes." She smiled faintly and looked between them. 

"That's good." Dean said casually. 

She was silent for a moment. "I'm gonna...go clean up the kitchen. Someone made a mess," she said with a small smile, looking at him. 

Looking down, he scuffed his shoe on the ground, "Yeah...I'll come help." 

"It's okay. You guys should talk." She glanced at Sam, biting her lower lip, then quickly ducked out the door again. 

Dean bit his lip as he looked back at his brother, not quite knowing what to say. 

Sam looked back at him, feeling awkward. "We should go help." 

"Yeah, we should." 

He was silent for a moment, then slowly turned and opened the door. 

Walking through the door, he went into the kitchen, where Chloe was kneeling on the floor, "Chloe...stand up." 

She looked up at him. "What?" 

"You heard me." 

Giving him a look, she slowly rose to her feet, raising her eyebrows. 

He smirked as she stood, "Watch this." 

Chloe watched with amazement as the sandwiches flew by themselves over to the trash can. "Whoa," she murmured. 

"Cool, huh." He said, smiling. 

She grinned. "Any chance you can teach me that trick? Would make cleaning up much faster." 

"Sorry...trade secret." 

"Damn." Her eyes were sparkling. 

"Maybe one day." He came closer to her, and held her in his arms.

Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder, melting into his embrace.

Rubbing her back, Dean said no more.

Sam smiled faintly and disappeared down the hall.

"I don't know how I'm gonna get through his thick skull." Dean sighed, watching his brother leave.

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she pulled away to look at him.

He shook his head, "Nothing."

"Oh, come on. Don't hold out on me now. What's going on, Dean?" she asked worriedly.

"He's just...His mind isn't in a good place."

Growing more concerned by the minute, Chloe searched his eyes. "How so?"

"He's thinking about trading places with me."

Her face drained of all color. "What?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"He thinks this whole thing is his fault...that he should be the one dead." He whispered sadly.

Tears pricked at her eyes and she swallowed hard. She didn't even know how to respond to that.

He held her to him again, "I don't know what to say to him anymore."

Chloe shut her eyes tightly. "What can I do?" she whispered.

"Talk to him."

"You mean talk him out of it."

"That too."

She bit her lip. "What if I can't?"

"You don't want to know." He said, looking away.

"Dean." There was alarm in her voice. "Tell me."

He shook his head, "I can't."

"Why not?" she demanded softly.

"Just trust me Chloe." He pleaded.

She gazed at him. "You know I do."

"Then talk him out of it."

Chloe shut her eyes tightly for a moment. "I'll do what I can."

Giving her shoulder a squeeze, Dean smiled, "Thanks."

She managed a faint smile, then glanced over her shoulder toward the hallway. She just hoped she could get through to Sam.

Sam sighed as he put his arms under his head and stared up at the ceiling. There had to be a way to get Dean back, and he knew his dad had to have some kind of spell or something. As he thought of places to look, he didn't hear the door open, and someone step in.

"Sam?" Chloe's voice was quiet, almost inaudible.

He blinked and looked over at the door, "Hey. Why aren't you with Dean?"

"He's with the boys." She gazed at him intently, her heart beating quickly in her chest.

"Oh." He turned his gaze back to the ceiling.

She bit her lower lip and shut the door behind her quietly before moving over to sit on the edge of his bed, gazing at him.

"Let me guess." He said, not bothering to look at her, "Dean sent you in here."

"He didn't have to. He told me what you were thinking about."

"Ah. Well, I guess that'd be a reason."

"You can't do it, Sam," she whispered.

"Why not? It's not like I deserve to be here." His voice was flat.

Chloe flinched at his tone. "Who does?" she asked sharply.

He finally turned to her, "Dean does. And you know it."

She held his gaze. "And what about me, Sam?" she asked quietly.

"You deserve to be here more than anyone else." He whispered.

"Really? Because if I had just made the trade to start with you and Dean would both still be here."

"And Michael wouldn't know his mom." He said, "No one should have to grow up without a mom."

She winced and looked away. She knew that pain all too well. "Dean saved you because he loves you. Because he's your brother. You even...contemplating this..." She shook her head.

"Michael and Matthew need their dad. Not me."

"And you are the only dad they have ever known," she whispered, looking back at him.

His eyes watered and he looked away, "It's not right."

"Life isn't right, Sam. It isn't always fair, but...I believe that everything happens for a reason." A tear streaked down her cheek.

His eyebrows furrowed as more tears built up in his eyes, "And what reason did Dean have to die?"

"To save you." She reached out and touched his arm. "Maybe to save all of us."

He pulled away, "Whatever."

Another tear slid down her cheek. "Promise me you won't do this."

"Dean needs to be here."

"Sam." She looked at him with fright in her eyes. "There's no guarantee it would even work! You can't just--"

"Why not?" He asked, voice shaking with tears and fury, "Why the hell can't I get my brother back?!"

"Because that's not how it works!" Her voice was strained. "Don't you think I've thought about the same thing a hundred times?"

"He shouldn't be like this. He shouldn't be a fucking ghost that his kids are afraid of!"

She stared at him with tear-filled eyes. "Sam, I know how much it hurts," she whispered. "And I'm sorry I've kept you at a distance. I shouldn't have." She dropped her head.

He sniffed back the tears before talking again, "I'm fine. You did what you had to do."

"You're not fine. And neither am I."

"I've got to be fine." He whispered.

"Why?" She shook her head a little.

"I just...I have to."

"Because of me? Because of the kids?" She whispered, looking at him.

He nodded, and looked away from her.

"Sam..." Chloe hesitantly reached out and touched his cheek. "The kids are all right. And you don't have to be strong for me anymore."

He closed his eyes at her touch, "Yes I do."

"No you don't," she whispered, slowly lying down beside him. "I just need you here with me."

"You need Dean."

She shut her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. "As hard as it was...as much as it hurts...Dean's gone. And I don't think that I could make it through losing you too. Please don't leave me," she whispered, her voice strained.

"You'd have Dean back. It wouldn't make much difference." He said darkly.

Chloe felt fresh tears well in her eyes and a soft sob escaped her.

Sighing, Sam rolled over and pulled her into his arms, "It won't be long. Then you'll have Dean. And you can get on with your lives."

She pulled away from him. "You honestly think...that it would just be okay?" she whispered, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. "That we could be happy at the expense of your life?"

"I do." He said brokenly.

"Well it wouldn't be." Her voice broke, more tears spilling down her cheeks. "That would never be okay, Sam. It would kill the boys if they lost you. Dean wouldn't wanna be here without you." She pressed a hand to her face, another sob escaping her.

"They're still young. They'd forget. And Dean would be fine. He always is."

"I wouldn't forget," she whispered brokenly. "And I wouldn't be fine."

"You'd have Dean."

"You don't get it, do you?"

There's nothing to get."

"I love you." Her voice was almost inaudible.

"You love Dean more." He whispered.

Another tear slipped down her face as she gazed at him, saw the pain and sorrow in his eyes. And she did the only thing she could think of. Touching his cheek, she leaned closer and kissed him softly.

He was surprised at her action, but didn't pull away and kissed her back.

Leaning her forehead against his, she rested a hand over his heart, slowly deepening the kiss, hesitant that he would push her away.

He wrapped his arms more fully around her, sinking into her kiss, not wanting to pull away.

She lifted her hands to touch his face, breaking their kiss long enough to breathe before kissing him again.

His mind went blank at the intensity of her kiss. And for a moment, he forgot all his worries.

"I love you," she whispered against his mouth.

"I love you too." He whispered back, kissing her again.

Chloe shifted closer to him, sliding one hand through his shaggy hair. "So you're not interested in Rachel?"

He shook his head, "She's just a friend."

"I was jealous," she whispered, swallowing hard.

"I know...you had every right to be."

"What do you..." Her eyes widened a little in surprise. "You wanted to make me jealous?"

"No. No." He said quickly, "I never wanted to make you jealous."

A smile touched her lips.

Sighing, Sam sat up, "You should go be with Dean."

"Only if you come with me," she whispered, gazing at him intently.

He shook his head, "No, you two need time alone."

Chloe dropped her head once more, hurt washing over her. Hurt she knew she didn't have a right to feel. It wasn't like Sam had any reason to believe her. She'd kept him at arm's length for almost the entire length of their relationship.

"Go have fun, I'll be out for dinner."

Tears stung her eyes and she slowly rose to her feet, heading for the door with slumped shoulders.

As Chloe walked out the door, Sam went to grab his dad's journal. Her talk hadn't done much to change his resolve, and he'd sure as hell find a way to make this all right again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe sat on the sofa, her eyes shut, a feeling of defeat upon her. She knew she hadn't talked Sam out of doing anything, and she had no idea how she was going to be able to. Resting her head in her hands, she let out a slow breath.

Suddenly Dean appeared on the couch next to her, "Still got his mind on it, huh?"

"I don't know how to get through to him," she whispered.

"We'll find something."

"And what if we can't? What's gonna happen, Dean?"

"Nothing good."

"Yeah, I figured that much out." She rubbed her temples.

Putting an arm around her, he pulled her close to him, "Just have to knock some sense into him."

"It wouldn't work, would it?" Her voice was hushed. "It would just get him killed."

"I won't let him get himself killed." Dean said firmly.

She laid her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"So I know he's taking some college classes again...but what kind of classes are they?"

"Psychology," she murmured.

"He's studying to be a shrink?" Dean tried to hold back his laughter, "Oh boy..."

She poked him in the ribs. "Hey, he'll be great at it."

He did laugh that time, "Yeah, because he's Mr. Touchy-Feely. Always knew he'd do something like this."

Chloe shook her head slightly in amusement.

"Maybe I'll tag along to some of his classes..."

She groaned. "Dean."

He gave her an innocent look, "What?"

She sat up and began to run her fingers through his hair. "Hmm. Well I don't see any horns..."

"Oh hey, that's mean."

She grinned at him.

His image began to flicker, "I'll just go pout now..."

"Some things never change," she teased.

Stopping the flicker, he did pout, "You're just getting meaner...and meaner..."

"Like I said, some things never change." She smiled at him.

Smiling, he leaned forward and kissed her, "And I'm glad for that."

Chloe returned the kiss and rested her head on his shoulder once more.

After a few minutes of silence passed, Dean looked down at her, "So, you got a dog, huh?"

"The kids wanted one." She paused. "And so did Sam."

"And you had no say in it, I'm sure." He said sarcastically.

A grin tugged at her lips. "Okay, I did too. But look at Jazzy. She's adorable."

He looked over at the puppy, who immediately stopped chewing on her chew toy and growled at him, "Yeah, real adorable."

She poked him in the ribs again. "She's just not used to you."

"Yeah...sure."

"Well you did make cups float in front of her. And throw sandwiches at Sam's head."

"I was trying to help out...and Sam deserved to be sandwiched."

"No, he didn't." Her voice grew quiet. "If anyone did, it was me."

He shook his head, "No you didn't."

"If I'd just...let down my guard a little more.." She swallowed hard.

Putting his hand behind her back, he began to rub it, "You didn't know."

"But I do now and I don't know how to fix it, Dean," she whispered.

"You just need to chip away at the walls he's built up. Like you did with me."

Chloe closed her eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't taken as good of care of him as you did," she murmured.

"But you're doing the best that you know how." He whispered.

"But it's not enough, is it?"

"It will be. It will be."

A tear trickled down her cheek. She just wished she could believe that.

*** 

Chloe tucked some hair behind her ear as she stepped into her office at work the next morning. Casting a sideways glance at Dean, a faint smile tugged at her lips.

Dean whistled as he looked around, "So...you work here?"

"It's not exactly the Daily Planet, but...it's not too bad."

"Well, that's good."

Nodding a little, she sat down at her desk, finding a single rose there. She looked at it in surprise, a smile brightening her face.

Frowning, he picked up the rose, "Who did you get this from?"

"It's not from you?"

"No..."

"Maybe it's from Sam," she murmured, biting her lower lip.

"I guess..." He handed the rose to her, still doubtful.

She took it from him, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "You don't think so?"

He shrugged, "I guess it could be from him."

Looking at him in confusion, she set the rose down once more and turned on her computer.

Sitting on top of her desk, Dean watched the computer boot, "You know, I've missed these..."

"Computers?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"Yeah."

"Really?" Chloe arched an eyebrow. "Missed looking at the porn online?" she teased.

He pouted at that comment, "That's not all I did online..."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about the cybering." She laughed at his expression.

Putting his face in his palm, he shook his head, "Fine, I don't miss computers."

"You know I'm teasing."

"You better be..."

Chloe smiled at him and shook her head as she went to work on the article she'd been writing.

"So...I'm thinking it's slightly quiet in here..."

"Well, yeah. It's early."

Rolling his eyes, he hopped off the desk and began to walk around the office, "I've decided...I'm bored."

"How can you be bored? We've only been here five minutes."

He shrugged, "What can I say? It's just in my nature to be bored."

A smile on her face, she shook her head a little, focusing on her article as best she could.

A few minutes later found Dean clicking his tongue and sitting in a chair across from Chloe.

She paused, her hands stilling on the keyboard. "Dean."

He raised his eyebrows, "Hmm?"

"That's...making it very hard to concentrate."

Grinning, he continued.

She gave him a look.

He stopped at the look, "You're no fun."

"I'm all kinds of fun. But this is due in an hour."

He coughed, "Procrastinator."

Chloe snorted. "Hey it's not my fault my house was being haunted."

"Well at least it wasn't by Casper the Blood-Thirsty Ghost."

"Casper the..." She shook her head a little and turned her attention back to her article.

"Hmm...What do you think would happen if I got a computer or two frozen on some...questionable websites?"

"As long as it's not mine, have fun," she responded with a smirk on her face.

He stood up quickly, "Are you serious?"

She chuckled. "See that guy out there? Far side of the room?" She nodded toward him.

Dean nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"Start with him."

Grinning mischievously, he rubbed his hands together and walked towards the unsuspecting man.

Chloe couldn't help but grin. Okay, so that hadn't been very nice of her, but the guy had always treated her like she wasn't worthy of being there.

Five minutes later, Dean was back over by Chloe's desk with a wide grin on his face.

She smirked at his expression, glancing past him to look at her co-worker, who hadn't yet noticed what was going on.

"I think that might just get him fired..."

"Somehow I don't feel too bad about that."

"Now, why did I think you wouldn't?"

"Because he's a jackass of the highest degree?"

"Hmm...jackass..." He put on a thoughtful face, "I'll...be back."

"What are you gonna do?"

"...Nooothin'."

She raised her eyebrows, watching as he headed out of her office once more. Shaking her head a little, she looked down at her computer, pausing when she heard a knock on the door. Glancing up, she smiled faintly. "David, hi."

David looked at her shyly and smiled, "Hi Chloe."

"How's it going?"

"Good...uh...you?"

She managed a faint smile. "Just trying to finish up an article."

"Oh, that's nice." He looked down at his hands, "So, do you maybe...wanna get lunch...you know, later?"

She froze, more than a little thrown off guard by the question. "Um, actually...I'm meeting a friend for lunch. But thank you for the offer."

He swallowed, "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later."

Chloe felt a moment of guilt wash over her as he headed away, looking utterly rejected. She sighed softly and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, I can tell you now, it'll be a while before that dude's employed again."

"What did you do?"

"Things..."

She gave him a look. "Come on, at least let me enjoy the moment to its fullest." 

He smirked, "Lets just say I know some of the, ah, really good websites."

Her eyebrows shot up as she heard the commotion in the other room. Already one of the bosses was yelling at the man and she covered her mouth with one hand to suppress her laughter.

"Knew you'd like that."

"Oh man." She sighed, a grin on her face as she sat back in her seat.

"So, is there anyone else here you might have some issues with?" Dean asked, grinning wickedly.

Amused, she gazed at him. "Not so far, but are you sure you can't hang around just in case?"

"I'll be here all week." He teased.

"Just this week?" she whispered.

"Chloe...don't."

Tears stung her eyes and she dropped her gaze to her computer once more, swallowing hard.

Coming up behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders and began to rub them, "You gotta remember that I love you."

"I know," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"And I will always be there for you."

"It's not the same."

Leaning down, he kissed her cheek, "Try not to think of it like that?"

She blew out a breath, closing her eyes against the soft kiss. "I'll try."

He smiled softly, "That's my girl."

Chloe bit her lip and finished up the article she was working on, sending it to her editor via email. "All right. The rest I can do at home."

"Sweet."

She rose to her feet, grabbing her purse from beneath the desk and heading out of her office, literally bumping into David. "God...sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She offered him an apologetic smile.

"It's...it's okay." Deavid stuttered, moving past her, "Um, I've gotta...yeah, have a good day Chloe.."

"You too." She watched him go, glanced at Dean, and headed for the door.

Dean frowned as he watched the man walk away, "I don't like him."

"David?" She glanced at him in confusion.

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Why?"

"I just don't." He said, shrugging.

"I think he has a little crush on me," Chloe admitted.

"Yeah...I can see that."

A small smile on her face, she led the way out of the newspaper office.

"Still don't like him."

She sighed. "Dean, I'm not going out with him."

"Good." He folded his arms, "It better stay that way."

Chloe shook her head a little. "He's a nice guy, but he's not my type."

"That's because Sam is." He mumbled to himself.

"I heard that."

He looked up at her and blinked innocently, "No ya didn't."

"Trust me. I did."

"Nah."

She snorted and climbed into her car.

Dean appeared next to her, "Well, if you heard me, then you know I'm right."

She was silent for a moment, not starting the car. "I gotta say...having your dead ex appear and tell you to start dating his brother is...slightly bizarre, even for me."

"Well, when you say 'dead ex', I guess that puts it into perspective. Thanks." He said, looking out the window.

"You know what I mean," she whispered, resting her head back against the seat.

"Yeah, I do." He turned his head toward her, "But still..."

She sighed softly and met his gaze.

"You won't be betraying me."

Chloe swallowed hard and turned her head to stare out the windshield.

"Chloe-"

"I know," she whispered.

He put a hand on her shoulder, "Please, give him a chance."

"Dean, I think it may be too late," she murmured.

"It's never too late." He whispered.

"I don't think he believes me." Tears stung her eyes.

"Give him time."

"Do we have that?" she whispered, brushing a tear off her cheek.

"You, Sam, Matthew and Michael have all the time in the world." He said softly.

Chloe bit her lip, closing her eyes. "Not if we can't stop Sam," she whispered.

He sighed and nodded, "We need to show him what he'd be missing out on if he were to leave. Need to show him how much he's loved."

"It's weird," she murmured.

Raising an eyebrow, Dean frowned, "What is?"

"How I ended up falling for the two most stubborn men on the planet." A smile tugged at her lips.

He grinned, "Oh how lucky you must feel." 

She turned her head to look at him, an amused expression on her face.

"Though, I am the more handsome one..."

She grinned and shook her head before starting her car.

"What? No agreement?"

"I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole," she responded with a smirk.

He pouted, "Heeyy."

A soft chuckle escaped her. "You're both very attractive guys."

He held a hand up, "But, I'm more attractive."

"And more conceited," she said with a grin, pointing her car toward the house and focusing on the road.

Falling silent, Dean folded his arms and stared out the front window.

"Oh, come on. The pouting is very unbecoming."

"I'll pout all I wanna."

Shaking her head, she shot him an amused sideways glance, not noticing the car that was following her.

Dean noticed it though. Turning around, he furrowed his eyebrow, "So, do you always have cars following you this close to home?"

"What?" She glanced in the rearview window and noticed the maroon colored station wagon following her. The windshield was tinted and she couldn't make out the driver.

"I'm gonna take that as a no..."

Feeling uneasy, she shifted in the driver's seat, driving right by the house and down a different street.

The car seemed to take a different direction after that, "That was...weird."

"Maybe it wasn't really following," she said nervously, glancing in her rearview mirror again. "This is a big neighborhood. Could just be someone else who lives nearby."

Shifting so he was facing forward, Dean still frowned, "Yeah, I guess."

Chloe swallowed hard, gripping the steering wheel tightly, she turned the car back toward her house, quickly pulling it into the attached garage and shutting the door.

"So tell me...what do you usually do when you get home?"

She sat in the car for a long moment, still tense and uneasy. "Play with the boys, clean up the house...whatever needs done."

Dean nodded, then put a hand on her arm, "I'll keep a lookout on the house for a while, sound good?"

She turned her head to look at him, swallowing hard. "Thanks," she whispered.

He winked and disappeared, "S'what I'm here for."

Chloe shut her eyes for a moment, then slowly climbed out of the car and headed into the house, which was unusually quiet. Setting her purse on the floor by the kitchen door, she quickly locked it and flipped on the light. "Michael? Matthew? Sam?"

There was hushing and giggling coming from the other room.

A faint smile tugged at her lips. "Guess I've got the house all to myself."

The giggling abruptly stopped.

"Hmm, I wonder what I should do for the rest of the day," she said, the smile on her face widening. "Maybe I should go take a nap..."

More hushing followed by more giggling started up again, and Sam appeared in the kitchen, grinning, "You know, I'm thinking both of us have the house to ourselves."

She couldn't help but smile up at him. "Wonder where those boys went."

"I have no idea. I turned around to find a movie for them, and the next minute, they disappeared."

"Hmm. Guess we'll just have to watch a movie by ourselves."

He smiled, "Yeah, guess so."

Chloe touched his arm lightly, nodding toward the other room with a wink.

Smile growing, he began to walk slowly toward the front room.

Chloe followed him, just catching sight of Michael's head duck behind the sofa. She suppressed a chuckle and moved to sit down.

"So Chloe...what do you think we should watch?" Sam asked loudly, going over to the TV cabinet.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe the Lion King. But we can't tell the boys we watched it without them."

"You're right. It'll have to be a secret..."

She heard Matthew giggle and she grinned, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Popping up from behind the couch, Michael jumped onto his mom's lap, "Noo Mommy, don't watch it without us!"

"There you are!" she said in feigned surprise, wrapping her arms around him.

He giggled and snuggled into his mom as Matthew came up as well, "I'm here too Mommy!"

"Yes you are," Chloe said with a smile, hugging him too. She pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, then ducked her head and whispered something in their ears.

Giggling, Matthew climbed off the sofa and bounded over to where Sam stood, wrapping his arms around Sam's legs. "Uncle Sammy."

Michael followed his brother and hugged Sam as well.

Sam looked down at the two boys suddenly wrapped around his legs, "Hey boys."

"I wanna play airplane!" Matthew said, tugging on his shirt and lifting his arms up.

He chuckled, "You do, huh?"

He nodded eagerly and reached up for Sam again. "Up, please."

"Well...since you said please..." He picked Matthew up and began running around the room with him.

Chloe watched, her eyes filled with warmth as she watched Sam spin Matthew around while making airplane noises, her son giggling gleefully and holding his arms out as though he was actually flying.

Michael came back over and sat next to her, "Mommy, where's Daddy?"

She kissed his cheek and pulled him close. "He's around here somewhere."

"Oh."

She looked up at Sam once more, caught sight of him looking at her, and offered him a smile.

Taking Matthew in his arms, Sam came over and sat down next to them, "Dean's lurking?"

She nodded slightly, gazing at him intently. I need to talk to you, she thought, hugging Michael a little tighter.

Getting her hint, Sam stood and left Matthew on the couch, "How about I put Lion King on for the two of you so me and your mom can think of something for you two to eat?"

"Okay," Matthew agreed, grinning happily.

Chloe kissed Michael's head and slowly stood up as well, watching as Sam slipped the DVD into the player before turning and heading to the kitchen.

After making sure the movie was playing, Sam followed, "What's up?"

She turned to look at him with uncertainty in her eyes. "I think someone's following me," she whispered.

"Following you?" He whispered back, surprised.

Chloe nodded, casting a glance toward the living room to make sure the boys were occupied with the movie. "Home from work. A maroon station wagon, tinted windows." She swallowed hard.

He ran a hand through his hair, "Great."

"I didn't even notice it til Dean mentioned something." Something else occurred to her. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't by chance...leave a rose on my desk at work, did you?"

Frowning, he shook his head, "No...why?"

Growing more uneasy with each passing moment, she slowly started to pace the floor. "Because there was one on my desk this morning. And if you didn't leave it and Dean didn't leave it..."

He swallowed, "Are you thinking...it's the same guy?"

"Seems like too big of a coincidence for it not to be," she murmured.

Sighing, he sat down on a bar stool, "Maybe you should stay home for a few days."

Chloe was silent for a moment, feeling deja vu wash over her. "Or not," she whispered.

"What?"

"If someone is following me..." She glanced toward the living room again, her heart sinking. "The boys could be in danger."

He followed her gaze, "You're right. Damn it."

She slowly wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm gonna pack a bag," she said, her voice barely audible.

"Okay...I'll go pack a few things for the boys."

"What?" She looked at him in confusion.

"They're going with you. I'll make sure no one follows you, but if you leave, there's no way they'll be happy without you."

"It's not safe, Sam," she whispered, pained. Already a plan was beginning to form in the back of her mind and she swallowed hard, turning away.

"Fine." He folded his arms, "Then you get to go tell them you're leaving."

Chloe winced a little. "Hopefully it will only be for a couple of days."

"I don't like this."

She bit her lip, still faced away from him. It had been a very long time since Smallville. A very long time since she'd played the bait in a trap that was dangerous. She slowly turned to look at him. "It'll be okay."

"Sam, I swear to god, if you let her go off by herself, it'll be the last thing you do."

Sam jumped at his brother's voice, "What?"

Dean stepped into the kitchen, arms folded, "You are not going to play bait."

"God! Would you chill with the Casper routine? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Well, considering the Casper routine is basically the only thing I'm about anymore..."

She rubbed the back of her neck, closing her eyes. "Dean--"

"No."

"It's not safe for me to stay here with the boys if some maniac's after me," she whispered tensely.

"Well, it's not safe for you to be by yourself if some maniac's after you either." He replied, eyes narrowing.

She gave him a look. "It's the boys that I'm worried about."

"I know you are. But separating yourself from them won't make it any better."

"It'll keep them safe," she whispered.

"And what about you?" He asked.

Chloe fell silent, looking away.

"They already...don't have me." He said, trying to catch her eye, "They don't deserve to lose you too."

"They won't." Her voice was strained and she avoided his gaze, as well as Sam's.

"Chloe. A mad man may be after you. And you want to isolate yourself so you're an easier target?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," she tried to joke.

"This is different and you know it." Dean said firmly.

She let out a nervous breath. "Fine. Then tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"You need to figure out who you know who could possibly be after you."

"Are you kidding me? Some of the articles I've written in the last few years--it could be anyone, Dean!"

"Yeah, and someone that wants to kill you would so leave you a rose on your desk." He said sarcastically.

Chloe shot him a look. "Hello, when Angelus was stalking Buffy he left her a dozen roses."

The lights flickered as Dean's temper rose, "That was a show. You're going to compare this to a fucking TV show?"

She glared at him. "Lower your voice," she hissed, motioning toward the living room. "And it's not unusual for stalkers to leave gifts for their victims. It happens all the time, Dean!"

He clenched his jaw, "Don't do anything drastic. I'll be back."

"Dean, what--" She threw her hands in the air in frustration when he vanished.

Sam sighed as he watched his brother leave. Turning to Chloe, he put his hands in his pockets, "He's right. You shouldn't leave."

She closed her eyes. "I'm just trying to keep them safe, Sam," she whispered.

"But you need to keep yourself safe in the process." He said, taking her hand in his.

Swallowing hard, she slid her fingers through his and slowly opened her eyes to gaze at him.

"You know, this is even more reason for Dean to be here instead of me. He knows what to do." He said, looking down at their hands.

"Sam, please don't," she whispered, shifting closer to him and winding her arms around his waist.

"You know it's true."

"And we both know if Dean hadn't been here, you wouldn't have let me take off alone either." Her voice was quiet.

He didn't respond to her, just looked ahead.

"You know it's true, Sam." She slowly pulled away and looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Yeah, but I still don't know what else to do." He said, still averting his gaze.

"Well, neither do I." She looked down at the floor, her eyes pooling with tears.

"Dean will know though." He whispered.

"And if he wasn't here, we'd figure something out. We always do." Her voice was strained.

"Sure."

A tear slipped down her face. "You know it's funny," she whispered, pausing as she started to head out of the kitchen.

He his gaze followed her, "What is?"

She met his gaze. "I've never stopped believing in you. Not for a minute. When did you stop believing in me?" Her voice was quiet. She didn't give him a chance to answer before she headed out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

***

Chloe lay in her bed later that night, staring blankly at the ceiling. It was nearly Midnight and sleep was nowhere in sight, and neither was Dean. She wondered where he'd gone. And then she wondered if Sam was awake across the hall. Sighing softly she pressed a hand to her face and sat up in bed, a chill washing over her. She glanced around the darkened room, her gaze lingering on the window for a moment. It took that long for it to register that someone was staring in the window at her. Her face grew pale and a shriek escaped her as she scrambled out of bed.

Sam jolted up from his bed as he heard Chloe's scream. He'd also been looking up at the ceiling, thinking of what Chloe had told him earlier. Stumbling from the sheets now, he ran down the hall and all but knocked Chloe's door down. Looking around wildly, he ran over to her, "What's going on?"

"Someone was at the window!" Her body trembled as she gripped onto his arm.

His gaze immediately shot towards the window, but he could see no one. "Go to the boys' room. I'm going to check it out."

Frightened, she grabbed her robe and slid it on as she made her way down the hall to her sons' room. Amazingly enough they were both still asleep.

Going back to his room, Sam grabbed a gun from his closet and headed out the door, gun low, but ready to be fired.

Shivering uncontrollably, Chloe pulled the robe around her more closely, instinctively shifting her gaze to the window and expecting to see someone standing there. But there was no one.

"Whoever that bastard was, he's gone now."

She turned, startled at the sound of Dean's voice, her eyes filling with tears as she threw her arms around him. "Where've you been?" she whispered.

He hugged her tightly, "Making sure he left."

She buried her face against his neck for a moment, then jerked her head up. "Are you sure he's gone? Sam went out there." There was fear in her voice.

"I watched him screaming from the yard." He assured her.

"And you're sure he's okay?" She looked toward the door.

He nodded, "Yeah. But I'll go get him back in here."

At that moment, Sam appeared in the doorway and her face crumpled as she moved over to hug him tightly around the waist.

Sam was surprised when Chloe rushed toward him. Slowly sliding his arms around her, he rubbed her back, "He's gone."

She shut her eyes, exhaling slowly and then looking up at him. "I was worried," she whispered.

He smiled slightly, "Don't need to worry now."

Swallowing hard, she bit her lower lip and looked over at Michael, and then Matthew. "I don't wanna leave them alone in here."

Kissing the top of his head, he walked over to the boys, "I'll take them to your room. They can sleep in your bed with you."

Chloe glanced over at Dean uncertainly, hesitant. When he nodded slightly, she looked at Sam once more. "Will you stay, too?" she whispered.

He blinked in surprise. He had expected her to ask Dean to stay, "Uh...yeah."

"You want some tea? I think I need some," she murmured, moving toward the door.

"Sure...sounds great."

Nodding, she slowly headed down the hallway, still shaken and pale.

Giving his brother one last look, Sam followed her to the kitchen, where he saw Chloe struggling with a kettle, "Here...you sit down. I'll do this."

"Thanks," she whispered, sitting down on one of the stools and resting her head in her hands.

Nodding, he filled it with water and turned on the stove before walking over to her and putting a comforting hand on her back.

Swallowing hard, she looked up at him.

"We'll get this guy." He whispered.

"Promise?" She bit down hard on her lip.

"If it's the last thing I do." He promised.

She flinched. "Don't...don't say that. Please."

He bit his lip, "God, sorry."

"I don't wanna lose you, Sam," she whispered, blinking back tears.

Pulling out a chair, he sat down next to her, "You...you won't."

"Promise me." Her voice was urgent and she gazed into his eyes.

He looked away from her, "Chloe-"

"Sam, please," she whispered, touching his cheek and turning his face back to look at her. "Please promise me."

"I promise you won't lose me to him." He whispered back.

Chloe gave him a pained look, a tear sliding down her cheek and she dropped her gaze to the counter.

A high pitched whistling stopped any further conversation, and Sam got up quickly to make the tea.

Her shoulders slumped, and then shook slightly as she held back a sob, feeling drained and helpless to stop him from doing something horrible that would cost him his life. Or his soul.

Chloe lay awake on the side of the room closest to the door, Matthew curled up asleep beside her and Michael snuggled up against Sam, also asleep. She stared at the ceiling, her heart thudding heavily in her chest. "Sam?" she whispered, voice barely audible.

"Yeah?" He whispered.

"Just wondered if you were awake," she murmured.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

She was silent for a moment. "Me too."

Reaching out over Michael, he put his hand on her, "Try to get some sleep. I'll keep a lookout."

"No, it's not that. I feel safe," she whispered, turning her head to look at him.

He frowned, "Then what is it?"

You, she thought sadly, though she didn't say it. "Just...got a lot of things rolling in my head."

"Want to talk?"

She drew in a breath, looking over at him in the darkness once more. His hand still rested on her arm and she covered it with her own.

He smiled slightly as their hands connected, "Come on...talk."

She brushed her fingers over the back of his hand lightly. "Sometimes it seems like that doesn't do any good," she whispered.

"But it usually does..."

She slowly sat up in bed, leaning back against the headboard though she kept hold of his hand. "You keep saying we don't need you," she whispered, staring down at their hands. "So why are you the first person I think of every morning and the last person I think of every night before I fall asleep?"

"Because Dean's not here. But...when he's back, I'll fade from your mind." He whispered.

"But Dean is here," she reminded him softly. "And there's no way I could ever forget you, Sam."

"She's right, Sam."

Tears prickled in her eyes and she turned to see Dean standing beside the bed.  
"Whatever Dean." He said flatly, turning away.

She bit her lower lip when he pulled his hand away from her. Feeling defeated, her shoulders slumped and she brushed a tear off her cheek.

Dean came over to her and sat beside her, "Sammy, don't do this."

At that moment, a frightened scream pierced the air and Chloe quickly reached out and flipped on the light as Matthew sobbed in his sleep. "Baby? What is it?" She smoothed the hair back from his eyes and kissed his forehead, her focus immediately shifting to her son.

"Mommy!" He yelled, tossing and turning in his sleep, tears beginning to flow down his face.

"Matthew! Matthew, it's okay, wake up!" She shook him gently and pulled him into her arms.

He woke up and looked around wildly, "Mommy...mommymommy."

"Shh, it's okay, sweetheart. It's okay, I'm right here," she whispered against his ear, rubbing his back gently. "I'm right here, Matthew."

A sob escaped his tiny body and he tried to wrap his arms around her, "Scared."

Growing more worried by the moment, she tightened her arms around him. "You just had a bad dream. You're okay. You're safe."

"No! Mommy...they took you."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Who did, Matthew?"

"I don't know." He said in a small, frightened voice.

Swallowing hard, she looked over at Sam, her face pale.

Sam swallowed as well, "Can you tell me what you saw bud?"

"There was a bad man," he whispered, burying his face into Chloe's neck, sniffling.

Dean leaned forward and put his hand on his son, "What did he look like, bud?"

"I don't know," he whimpered.

"Shh, it's okay, Matthew." She pressed a kiss to his forehead, thankful Michael was a heavy sleeper. She looked at Dean, and then at Sam. "This is the second time he's dreamt about this."

Both boys shot her identical looks of surprise, "Second time?"

She nodded slightly, hugging him closer and holding Sam's gaze for a long moment, a question beginning to form in the back of her mind.

Sam ran a hand through his hair, "Damn it, he has visions."

Swallowing hard, she shut her eyes and kissed the top of Matthew's head. "So it's hereditary," she whispered almost inaudibly.

Dean shook his head, "Wait, but Sam's the one with the visions. How...?"

She glanced over at him. "Is it possible that...one of your parents had abilities and you didn't know it?"

He shrugged, "I guess it's possible. I guess mom could've..." Dean's eyes widened, "God, Mom."

"What? What is it?" she asked, alarmed by the look on his face.

"I'll...give me a couple hours, okay?"

Nodding, she swallowed hard and watched as he vanished into thin air. She looked over at Sam once more, she bit her lower lip.

Matthew let out a sob and hugged Chloe tighter, "Don't leave me."

Tears watered in her eyes again as she looked at Sam helplessly. "I'm not gonna leave you," she whispered.

"Promise?" He asked in a small voice.

"I promise." Her voice was quiet, determined.

He snuggled against her, "Good."

She met Sam's eyes, her face pale. "Go back to sleep, Matthew. I'm right here, and so is Uncle Sam, okay?"

He nodded, eyes slowly drooping shut.

She was silent til she heard his breathing even out as he fell back asleep in her arms. "Now what?" she whispered.

Sam shook his head, mind still reeling from what had just happened, "I don't know. Guess, wait for Dean."

"You didn't start having visions until you were 22, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Right."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to work it all out in her head.

"It doesn't make sense." He mumbled, "This shouldn't be happening again."

"When's the last time you had a vision?" she whispered, her mind turning.

"Haven't had once since Dean..."

Chloe's face paled. "What?"

He swallowed and nodded shakily, "Yeah..."

She was silent for a moment. "If your mom passed on the visions to you...and Dean passed them onto Matthew..." She raked a hand through her hair. "But they're different, aren't they?" She looked down at her son.

"Well, I guess. My visions only happened when the demon was around. So-"

"They've mutated." She shut her eyes as a thought slammed into her like a truck. "Shit," she whispered.

He looked away from her, "Damn it. God...I'm so sorry Chloe."

She carefully slid Matthew out of her arms and back onto the mattress before rising to her feet as she began to pace the floor. "They've mutated because of me," she said quietly.

"Chloe, that's ridiculous."

"No it's not. Just because I don't have any abilities from being meteor-infected doesn't mean I couldn't have passed something along to Matthew," she whispered, not looking at him as she paced the floor. "Maybe the combination of the two..."

Making sure Michael was still sound asleep, Sam slid off the bed and stopped Chloe, "You can't blame yourself for that."

"I don't know how to help him," she whispered, looking up at him.

"You'll find a way. You and Dean-"

"Stop it!" A sob escaped her.

He jumped slightly at her tone, "It's true. You and Dean will figure something out."

She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him up against the wall, her green eyes accusing, filled with hurt and anger. "You are such a coward," she whispered.

Sam turned away as the words hit him like a hard slap to the face, "Right." He whispered back, walking out of the room.

She followed him, grabbing his arm and stopping him from going any farther, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You'd rather leave us behind, give up everything...just so you don't feel pain anymore." Her voice broke and she lifted her chin. "But I'll tell you this--if you do what you're planning to do--I will come after you."

"I'm doing this so you can have Dean back!" He shot back, yanking his arm away, "You can hold him, be with him again. The boys will know their dad! Damn it Chloe, why can't you see this from my view?!"

"I can. You're not seeing it from mine," she whispered brokenly. "I can't go through that again. I love you, Sam! Don't you understand that?"

He looked away, "Yeah, I do. But you really love Dean. It's who you need."

"I really love you both," she whispered.

"What's the point of me being here if you won't let me close?" His voice began to tremble.

"I'm trying, Sam." She gripped onto his arm tightly, as if he were her lifeline.

He gently pried her fingers off of his arm and headed out the door, "Should've tried five years sooner."

A soft sob escaped her and she slowly slid down to the floor, her back against the wall as she began to cry in earnest.

Walking out the front door, Sam let the cool night air whip across his face. As he went over to the Impala, he slid down the side and put his head in his hands and did the only thing he could do. He cried.

Michael woke up to the next morning to the smell of bacon. Frowning, he sat up and looked around and noticed that he was in his mom's room. Scooting off the bed, he slowly made his way to the kitchen, where he saw Chloe standing over a frying pan, her eyes and nose red. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

It took every ounce of strength she had not to start crying again in front of her son. "Oh, I've got a little cold, Sweetie. Breakfast is almost ready. You hungry?"

His stomach growled loudly before he could respond.

"Guess that's a yes," she said with a faint smile. She turned around and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Then she set about placing scrambled eggs and bacon on a plate for him. "Do you want milk or orange juice?" she asked as she carried the plate to the table and set it down.

He bounced up and down as he looked down at the plate, "Milk!"

"Okay." She pulled the milk from the fridge and poured him a glass, setting it down by his plate and watching him scarf down the food like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

A few minutes later had Matthew padding down the hallway, eyes wide and frightened.

Chloe turned at the sound of his footsteps and quickly stood up at the look on his face. "Did you have another bad dream?" She knelt down in front of him worriedly.

He shook his head, "I waked up...and I was alone."

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug, kissing his cheek. "You hungry? You want some eggs and bacon?"

Sniffing, he nodded, "Yes please."

She picked him up and gently set him in a chair across the table from Michael before moving to the stove and getting him a plate of food and a glass of milk. "There you go."

"Thank you Mommy."

"You're welcome," she whispered, gazing at him for a moment before watching Michael finish up his food. "Hey, Michael, can you do me a favor?"

Michael looked towards her and nodded, swallowing the last bits of his breakfast.

She smiled at him faintly, though her eyes were sad. "Uncle Sam's outside somewhere. If I fix him a plate, can you take it out to him?"

He frowned, "Why is Uncle Sammy outside?"

"I don't know," she said with another forced smile. "Working, I guess." She stood up and moved to the stove, putting the remainder of food on a large plate and pouring Sam a glass of juice. She set some silverware on the plate and handed it to Michael, who still looked confused.

"Okay..." Taking the plate, he carefully made his way out the door to find his uncle.

She watched him go, leaning against the door for a moment before returning to the kitchen to be with Matthew.

Matthew was picking at his eggs when she walked in, lost in thought.

"Any good?" she asked softly, rubbing the back of her neck tiredly.

He looked up, slightly startled, "Yeah, it's good Mommy."

"You okay, Mathew?" She reached out and touched his arm.

"I'm sad."

"Because of your dream?"

He nodded, "And you were gone..."

Guilt swept over her. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart. But I'm right here. I'm not gonna leave you."

Getting up from the chair, he climbed up on her lap and hugged her, "I'm glad Mommy."

She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. She just hoped she could keep that promise.

***

Michael wandered around the yard until he found Sam out by the Impala, laying on a rolling board underneath the hood. "Uncle Sammy?"

Sam jumped slightly at the voice, "Yeah, Michael?"

"I brought you breakfast!" He smiled.

Pushing himself out from under the car, he sat up, "Thanks bud."

He handed Sam the plate of bacon and eggs and sat down on the driveway. "It's really yummy."

Smiling and taking the plate, he nodded, "I bet it is."

"Mommy's a good cook."

He took a bite, "Yep. She is."

Michael was silent for a moment, watching him. "Mommy's sad."

"Yeah, I know she is."

"How come?" he asked, frowning.

"Because she's seen your daddy a lot lately. She really misses him."

Michael's frown deepened. "But she wasn't so sad yesterday," he said in confusion.

Sam shrugged, "It's just some grown up stuff bud. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sad, too?"

"No bud, I'm fine."

Michael nodded slightly and looked at the car. "Is she broke?"

Turning around, Sam put a hand on the car, "Nah, she just needs a little work."

"That's good." He propped his head up on one hand. "Can we go to the park later?"

"I don't know. Go talk to your mom about it."

"Are you mad at Mommy?"

Finishing the last bite of his breakfast, he gave the plate back to his nephew, "Why don't you go take this inside to her?"

"Come with me?" He held his hand out.

"Nah, I gotta work on the car."

He frowned, his hazel eyes sad. "Okay." His voice was sad. He slowly turned and headed back toward the house with his head down.

Sighing, Sam stood up and caught up to Michael, "Come on bud, don't be sad."

He didn't look up. "Are you leaving?" he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Are you going to leave us?"

What could he say to that? Biting his lip, he responded, "Why you asking?"

"Because you're mad at Mommy."

"I'm not mad at your mom. And I'm not leaving." He didn't add on the yet.

"Promise?" He sniffled.

Sam put a hand on his shoulder, "Yeah."

He put the plate down on the ground and wrapped his arms around Sam's waist.

He hugged Michael back, "Love ya bud."

"Love you too, Uncle Sam." He hugged him tightly.

"Think you better take that plate inside, then maybe you can help me work on the car. How's that sound?"

"Good." He beamed, pulling away from Sam and grabbing the plate once more, heading toward the house.

Sam watched him race into the house, then walked back toward the car. As he slid back under, he blinked back the sudden tears, "They'll be better off with their dad...they will." He whispered, picking up his wrench and going back to work on the car.

***

Chloe stood at the front door, watching Matthew and Michael run out toward Sam where he was working on the Impala. She leaned against the doorframe, her eyes sad as she saw Sam glance toward her and then quickly look away. She shut her eyes, stepped back inside and closed the door quietly. She drew in a breath and slowly headed down the hall to her bedroom, pausing when she caught sight of a silky red nightgown lying on her bed.

It was hers, but she hadn't pulled it out of her dresser and laid it on the bed. She glanced at the dresser, saw that the drawer was partially open, and then felt her stomach tighten as she moved toward the bed, picking it up. A small piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Feeling ill, she leaned down and picked it up, the breath catching in her throat as she read the words.

_I love the way you look in this._

Dropping the note onto her bed, she whirled toward the window, horrified to see that it was partially open.

He had been inside her house. In her bedroom. Where her boys had been asleep not an hour before. Nausea washed over her and she made a dash for the bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet.

"Chloe?" Dean's panicked voice came from beside her as he put a hand on her back.

It took her a few moments to recover enough to look at him. "He's been here," she whispered.

"Damn it." He got up and looked towards the bedroom, "I'll go look for him."

She sat at the base of the toilet, tears pooling in her eyes.

Disappearing, Dean looked around the house, then searched the perimeter before coming back to Chloe's side, "I...don't see him." he whispered sadly.

"We have to get the boys out of here," she whispered.

"Have to get all of you out."

She leaned against him, closing her eyes. "What'd you find out from your mom?"

He wrapped his arms around her and sighed, "She said she had weird dreams that would sometimes come true, but they weren't exactly violent or anything, just random stuff."

"So it does run in your family," she murmured.

"Seems that way." He said quietly, "But I can't see why I didn't have it...and why Michael doesn't have it. I mean, what? It only affects the youngest?"

"Dean, there's a chance that...because I'm meteor infected," she began.

He shook his head, "Don't go there. This is not on you."

"It could be that the power was mutated because of me," she whispered. "Which would explain why it's different for Matthew than it was for your mom or Sam."

"It's not mutated." He said firmly, "It could just be how the gene works...I mean, Sam had waking visions, mom had dreams. Could be a combination of both those things."

Chloe swallowed hard, shutting her eyes tightly once more. "Sam hates me," she whispered.

"And that's not true either."

"We had a fight." Her voice was barely audible.

He looked down at her, "What happened."

She winced. "I was horrible to him, Dean." Her face crumpled.

He rubbed her back soothingly, "Tell me what happened."

She began to tell him about the fight she and Sam had the night before, guilt washing over her. "Great way to help him," she whispered.

Sighing, Dean kissed the top of her head, "But it wasn't all you. Sam's partly to blame for this fight..." He paused, thinking, "Look, I'll go talk to him, alright?"

"I don't think it's gonna help." Her voice was sad.

"I bet it will."

Chloe bit her lip and watched as he headed for the door, pulling her knees up to her chest.

A few seconds later, Matthew ran into the room and hugged his mom.

"Matthew? You okay?" She wrapped her arms around him.

He nodded, "But I had to make you un-sad."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "You always make me unsad," she whispered.

He smiled and looked up at her, "Really Mommy?"

"How could I be sad with you around?" She smiled at him and kissed his nose.

Giggling, he threw his arms around her once more, "I love you Mommy."

"I love you too."

"Can we go to the park?"

She hesitated. "I don't know, Sweetie. We'll see, okay?"

He nodded and kissed her on the cheek, "Okay Mommy."

Sam cursed under his breath as a drop of oil dripped down and stained his shirt.

"You know, it's not nice to curse at my baby, dude."

He nearly whacked his head on the car, groaning. "Man, I'm gonna put a bell on you."

"Don't know how it'd stay, I mean, I disappear too much." Dean said, coming down on the ground beside his brother.

Sam sighed heavily. "She sent you out here?" He didn’t look at Dean.

"Hell no, I came out here myself."

Nodding a little, he was silent for a long moment.

"I heard about the fight." He said quietly.

Sam shut his eyes. "Yeah."

"She feels guilty as hell."

"Me too," he admitted in a whisper.

"But what really gets me here, is how you think they don't need you." His tone changed to disbelieving.

"Dean." 

Dean held up a hand, "No. Sam, hear me out." He paused to make sure he had his brother's full attention, "The only father figure Matthew and Michael have known is you. And if you left them, they'd never get over that. Besides, did you ever even stop to think about the switch going completely wrong?"

"It won't go wrong," he whispered.

"Can you tell me that for sure? And, what makes you think I want to come back?"

"Because you love Chloe. And you need to be with your family."

"But I am with family." He said, "And yeah, I do love Chloe. But I know she's in damn good hands."

He was silent for a long moment. "Not really."

"Oh don't go all self-pity-emo-Sam on me now. It's true." Dean's voice grew very firm, "Hell, I've watched you with the boys and with Chloe. You can't leave them. You can't."

"And they need you, Dean!" He shook his head and looked at his brother.

"They don't know me!"

He flinched at the anger in Dean's tone. "But they could."

"They won't want to." He said quietly, "They'll only blame me for taking their Uncle Sam away."

Sam stared at him, feeling those words like a punch to the gut. He looked away, staring blankly into the distance.

"Come on man, look at me."

Tears stinging his eyes, he slowly turned his head to look at Dean once more.

"You know I'm right." He said, voice still quiet.

"Man, I miss you." Sam's voice was strained and he shook his head a little. "I don't know what to do for her. I'm not you, Dean."

"What you've been doing now, it's what I would have done." He paused, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "You're actually doing better than me."

"I really doubt that."

"Well, I don't."

He leaned back against the car and rubbed the back of his neck. "Dean, do you have any idea who's after her?"

"There's this guy at her work..." He made a face, "I didn't trust him."

Sam stared at him in surprise. "It's someone she knows?"

"I don't know man, it could be."

He raked a hand through his hair.

"Just...can you go to work with her tomorrow?"

Sam drew in a breath. "If she's okay with that, yeah." He looked at his brother. "Dean, what aren't you saying?"

He bit his lip, "I'm just worried."

"Did something happen?"

He shook his head, "Not yet. But that doesn't mean something won't happen."

"Especially with Matthew's dreams," he murmured, glancing worriedly toward the house.

"Exactly."

Sam let out a breath and slowly rose to his feet. "So how do we keep her safe?"

"Need to get her out of the house." Dean said quickly, rising as well.

He frowned and looked at Dean. "Why do you--"

"He's been inside the house."

"What?" Sam stared at him. "When?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. Couldn't have been too long ago."

"You mean since this morning? Did Chloe see him?" He quickly headed toward the house.

"I don't think she did. But man, she's really scared."

Nodding, he moved to the front door, pulling it open quickly.

"Take care of her Sammy." He whispered, fading.

He paused, turning to see his brother had vanished once more. "I will," he whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Chloe kept a close eye on the boys as they watched Aladdin in the living room while she paced the kitchen floor, still feeling sick. She wondered if the guy was watching her right then, if he was smiling at how nervous and upset she was. Her breathing was a little ragged as she paced, her mind spinning as she tried to figure out what to do.

Closing the front door quietly, Sam walked into the living room where he saw Chloe pacing. Clearing his throat, he walked over to her, "Dean...told me what happened."

She didn't stop pacing. "We have to get the boys out of here."

"We have to get you out too."

"He's been in here," she whispered.

He walked up to her and stopped her pacing, "I know. Which is why you need to pack, and I'll pack things for the boys."

She swallowed hard, looking up at him with frightened eyes. "This guy's been watching me for a long time, Sam."

"But you forget, master of hiding." He said, giving her a small smile.

Chloe bit down hard on her lower lip, blinking back tears. "Sam..."

"Can you at least give me a chance?" He whispered, desperate to get her to agree.

Wordlessly she wound her arms around his waist. "Please don't hate me," she whispered.

He put his own arms around her, "I don't. I can't hate you."

"I'm sorry about last night. I..." Her voice broke.

Pulling her closer, he kissed the top of her head, "It's my fault...I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, I was...I was mean. I didn't mean to hurt you, Sam, I just...I'm scared. I don't wanna lose you." She looked up at him, a tear streaking down her cheek.

He wiped her tears away, "I know."

She turned her head and pressed a kiss against the palm of his hand, closing her eyes.

"I..." He paused and swallowed, "I love you."

Chloe slowly opened her eyes and turned to gaze at him again. "I love you too."

He smiled slightly at her words, "I'm glad."

She hesitated a moment before standing up on her tiptoes and kissing him softly on the lips.

Her kiss caught him off guard. He could feel her love behind the kiss, and the walls around his heart began to melt away. Arms slowly coming up her back, he pressed her closer to him and kissed her back.

There was giggling from the entrance of the kitchen and a small smile tugged against Chloe's lips at the sound. "We just got caught," she whispered, resting a hand over his heart.

He smiled and looked toward the door, where Matthew and Michael's heads disappeared quickly, "Yeah, we did."

She touched his cheek. "Let's get outta here," she whispered.

Nodding, he released her, "I'll go pack things for the boys."

She bit her lower lip and followed him down the hall, hesitating at the door of her bedroom.

At her hesitation, Sam turned to her, "Do you want me to come in and wait until you're all packed?"

"Would you mind?" she whispered, afraid to open the door for what she might see on the other side.

"No. I'll even go in first."

Chloe managed a small, faint smile as he opened the door and looked around cautiously. She slowly followed him inside, not looking at the nightgown and the sick note still lying beside it on her bed. She moved to her closet, grabbing some of her clothes out quickly.

Sitting down on the bed, Sam propped himself up on his elbows and watched her.

She yanked her suitcase from the bottom of the closet and hurriedly stuffed her things inside. "You're coming, too, right?" She glanced at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Can't just leave you guys alone." He said, smiling slightly.

She relaxed a little at his words. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Welcome."

She finished quickly, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Sam, do you think...should we call the cops?" she asked uncertainly, shuddering as her gaze fell upon the dress and the note.

"As soon as we know who this sick bastard is, I'm going to drag his ass to the police station." If I don't kill him first. He added silently.

Chloe nodded a little, heading for the door.

Getting up, he followed her out of the door, and went into the boys room, and smirked when he saw the two of them still giggling. "Alright you two...you gotta help me pack."

"Pack? Are we going on a trip?" Matthew asked with wide eyes.

"Something like that."

"Yay! Are we going to Disneyland?" he asked excitedly.

He chuckled and ruffled Matthew's hair, "No, not quite."

"Aw, man...can Jasmine come with us?" He picked the puppy up off the floor and cuddled her against his chest.

"Of course she can. She's gotta. She'd miss you two too much." Sam said, going over to their drawers.

Chloe set her bag outside the boys' door and stepped into the room to help Sam, their hands brushing against each other as they both reached for the same shirt of Michael's. A small smile touched her lips and she glanced up at him.

He quickly looked away as he caught her eye. Blushing, he went to a different drawer and pulled out pants for the boys.

She bit her lower lip, her own cheeks coloring a little as she tucked some clothes into a bag for Michael. "Why don't you guys bring your top five travel toys with you each, okay?" She turned to look at the boys.

Both boys nodded and ran off to get their toys.

Sam laughed as he watched them, "Gosh, look at them go."

Chloe smiled, as well. "Even Clark would be impressed with that exit," she said lightly.

"Seriously." He paused, "Speaking of Clark...you talked to him lately?"

"No," she admitted, feeling guilty about that. "Not for awhile."

"How long is a while?" He asked quietly.

She looked down at the floor. "A couple of months."

"Oh."

"You think I should call him?" she asked uncertainly.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea." He shrugged.

Chloe drew in a breath and nodded slightly. "I will whenever we get...wherever we're going."

"We could go to one of the nicer hotels in Palo Alto..."

There was a scoff from behind, "You only wanna go there so you can look back on your geek boy school."

She shot Dean a look and shook her head before looking back at Sam. "That's fine with me."

Sticking his tongue out at his brother, he smiled at Chloe, "Great."

She smiled back at him in amusement, finishing packing up Michael's bag and zipping it shut.

"So, if I were to randomly appear in the hotel...I wouldn't be...you know, interrupting anything ever?" Dean asked, smirking.

Chloe's cheeks flushed with heat. "Dean!"

His eyebrows shot up innocently, "What? What'd I say?"

She tossed one of Matthew's stuffed animals at him.

He laughed as the toy made contact, "So this means I shouldn't go into your room."

"You are incorrigible," she said, shaking her head and looking at Sam.

Sam nodded and laughed, "Yeah, Dean, she's so right."

"Oh whatever, you just don't wanna admit it.."

She stuck her tongue out at Dean as she stood up, dropping the bag on Matthew's bed.

"Geeze, you two are _no_ fun." He pouted.

She grinned involuntarily. "We're lots of fun."

"Right. You guys just keep thinking that..."

"You know we are."

Getting up, he walked towards the door and smirked, "Maybe...maybe not."

"Go help the boys pack their toys," she said, returning his smirk.

"Ima goin..." And he left the room.

She shook her head slightly and looked toward Sam, her eyes filled with warmth.

Sam shook his head as well, "Wow...now _that_ was awkward."

"Coulda been worse."

He snorted, "Now how could that have been worse?"

A mischevious look appeared on her face. "He could've actually walked in on us while we were..."

A blush formed on his cheeks, "Yeah. True."

She grinned, her eyes twinkling. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

Running a hand through his hair he grinned shyly.

Her smile widened at the sight of his dimples and she ducked her head, her own cheeks flushing a little.

"So...ah...I guess we should go make sure Dean's actually helping the boys pack the right things," he said awkwardly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, that's..." She nodded a little, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Do you wanna...?" He motioned out the door.

Chloe glanced up at him and smiled a bit, then led the way out of the room.

As Chloe pushed the door leading to the boys' room open, it was almost utter chaos as the two young ones ran around the room with Dean leaning against the wall.

She shook her head a little, glancing back at Sam with raised eyebrows.

"Oh boy..." he muttered, running a hand down his face. "Dean!"

He glanced at his brother and smiled. "That's me.'

"So much for helping them pack," she said with a smirk, glancing at him with amusement.

"They _were_ packing...and then...that got boring," he said, shrugging.

Chloe chuckled softly, then knelt down on the floor. "Come on guys. We need to get ready to go!" A shudder worked its way down her spine though she tried to repress it.

Matthew was the first to stop and put down his toys, a small frown on his face. "Do we has to?"

"Yeah, Sweetie. Remember, we're going on a little trip?" She tried her best to sound excited rather than freaked out.

"Oh yeah...does daddy get to come?" He asked, walking over to where Dean still leaned against the wall.

She nodded a little. "Yeah."

He grinned and looked up at Dean. "You is coming with us!"

Dean smiled down at him. "Yeah, I am."

"So we should get going. Where's Jasmine?" she asked, glancing around.

Michael appeared next to his mom a moment later clutching the struggling puppy. "Right here."

She smiled a bit, reaching out and taking Jasmine from him. "Thanks, Michael," she whispered, kissing his forehead and then rising to her feet.

"You're welcome, Mommy."

Drawing in a breath, she glanced around. "You guys got everything you need?"

Both boys nodded. "Yeah, I made sure they got the essentials," Dean spoke up.

"Thanks," she said softly, looking over at him.

He pulled away from the wall and winked. "No problem. I'll be watching you guys all the way to Palo Alto, okay?"

Nodding a little, she turned to look at Sam.

Bending down, he picked up the duffle bags that contained the boys' clothes and toys. "Thanks man," he nodded to Dean then turned his gaze to Chloe. "Okay, lets head."

Chloe reached out and took Matthew's hand, making sure Michael was following closely as she followed Sam down the hall and out the front door, her body tense with anxiety.

"Everything's gonna be okay," Dean's voice whispered in her ear.

Swallowing hard, she nodded very slightly to let him know she'd heard him.

"Love you."

"I love you," she whispered almost inaudibly.

When they got out to the Impala, Matthew and Michael hopped into the back and proceeded to argue about whose lap Jasmine was going to sit on.

Chloe shivered against the cool autumn wind that swept across her like a block of ice. She looked up at Sam as he held the passenger door open for her.

"I'm gonna make sure nothing happens to us," he said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

She hesitantly reached up and touched his face. "I know," she whispered.

After she got in, he shut the door and walked over to the other side, sliding into the driver's seat. Looking back at the boys, he put on a smile. "Who's ready to have fun?"

"I am!" Michael said excitedly.

"Not more than me!" Matthew shouted, bouncing a little.

Chloe glanced at Sam sideways. "Were the two of you as competitive as they are?"

He chuckled. "Yeah...we were."

Somehow, she wasn't too surprised. She reached over and rested her hand on his arm.

He looked down at it briefly and the smile stayed on his face as they drove out of the city limits and toward Palo Alto.

* * *

Sometime after Midnight, Chloe sighed softly and gave up on the idea of sleep. Her nerves were far too raw for her to rest in the foreseeable future. Glancing across the room to where Sam lay asleep, Matthew curled up beside him, she smiled a little, Then she looked down to where Michael lay asleep beside her bed and she kissed his forehead before climbing to her feet, and grabbing her robe.

"You know this lack of sleep thing isn't good for you," a voice said from inside her head.

He's the voice in her head

She smirked. "You would know," she whispered, heading for the door, grabbing the spare key on the way.

"That it wasn't good? Well...never was one to think anything was too bad for me..."

"Considering you rarely got more than five hours of sleep a night," she responded wryly.

"With you in the same bed as me, how could I?"

She arched an eyebrow. "I don't know if that was a compliment or a complaint."

He was silent for a moment. "No...definitely a compliment."

"Uh huh." A short chuckle escaped her as she made her way down the hall toward the soda machine, her footsteps echoing down the empty corridor.

He appeared beside her when she stopped, leaning against the soda machine. "Well it's true."

Chloe leaned against it as well, gazing at him intently.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What's on your mind?"

Her eyes were sad and she shook her head a little. "Nothing."

"Come on," he said softly.

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I still love you so much," she whispered. "But I love Sam, too."

"I know."

Chloe rested her head against the machine, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Are you...trying to ask my permission?" His tone was slow, hesitant.

"I already know what you want," she whispered.

"But..." he lifted his hand to her cheek. "What do _you_ want?"

She leaned into his touch, her eyes still shut. "I can't have what I want." Her voice was very quiet.

His gaze saddened. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." She slowly opened her eyes to look at him once more, her eyes sad, as well. "Everything's just...so hard," she whispered. "I love you both, but I can't have you, and...Sam will never have my entire heart. Isn't that bad? I don't want him to feel like he's second best, because that's not how I feel."

"You wanna know what I think?" he whispered.

"Yes," she whispered back. 

"I think...if you show him how you feel, let him in and just...love him, he'll know. He'll know he's not second best. But...if you keep...coming close then pushing him away," he stroked her cheek. "It'll be a different story."

"I don't wanna hurt you either." Her voice was strained.

"You won't. You won't hurt me," Dean pushed off of the machine and pulled her into his arms. "The only way you'll hurt me is if you're not happy."

She slid her arms around him, resting her head against his collarbone as he held her. "Then I'll do my best," she whispered, a quiet promise. She would stop pushing Sam away. She'd let him in and love him the way he deserved to be loved, and even though she would always love and miss Dean, they would be happy. She knew that deep inside.

"Thank you," he murmured.

She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "No. Thank you," she murmured back.

As her lips pressed against his cheek, Dean gasped and pulled away, eyes wide.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Dean? What is it?"

His image flickered and he groaned. "Oh god..."

She reached for him, her heart skipping a beat. "Dean? Dean!"

"Chloe..." He fell to his knees, clutching his chest. "Run."

Her face paled as his image flickered once more. "No, I won't leave you. What's happening?" Tears filled her eyes.

He looked up at her, eyes wide as a shadow came up behind her. "RUN!"

Before she even had the chance to look behind her, a thick, gloved hand covered her mouth, muffling her voice as she cried out.

"No! Chloe!" He yelled, trying to stand.

The figure grinned. "There's no helping her now, ghost."

A sickly sweet smell permeated her nose and she gagged, struggling against the arm that had wound around her waist like a boa constrictor. It was a scent she recognized instantly. And the second she thought of the name, her eyes rolled back into her head as she lost consciousness, going limp in her attacker's arms.

When she went limp, the attacker pulled out a necklace with a bag attached to it. Slipping it around her neck, he picked her up in his arms and began to walk by Dean. "Now try to follow her," he growled, walking out.

Dean shook his head as the mysterious pain coursed through him. Standing slowly, he tried to walk to Chloe but found an invisible barrier instead. "Chloe! You son of a bitch!"

* * *

Matthew whimpered in his sleep, his small body tensing as he watched his mom being taken away from him...again. "Noo," he whimpered.

Sam was pulled from his light sleep by Matthew's soft cry. Sitting up slowly, he put a hand on his small shoulder and nudged him gently. "Matthew," he whispered.

"Mommy," he whimpered.

He felt a small pang of panic go through him as he looked across to the other bed and found only Michael sleeping there. "Matthew, wake up."

He sat up quickly, shuddering. "Where's Mommy?"

He gathered his small body against his and hugged him. "She'll come back, it's okay."

"Uncle Sam?" Michael murmured, waking up slowly though his voice was sleepy. He rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, Michael, I'm right here."

"What's going on?"

"Matt just had a bad dream," Sam said softly, gently rocking the small boy in his arms.

"Mommy," Matthew whimpered.

"Shh, it's okay Mattie, you're okay."

"Where is Mommy?" Michael asked suddenly, looking worried.

"She probably just went out for a little walk with your Dad," he only hoped to God he was right about that.

At that moment the door burst open and Michael turned wide eyes to see his dad stumbling into the room. "Dad?"

Sam's head snapped toward the door. "Dean!"

Image still flickering, Dean slowly looked up at his brother. "She's gone," he whispered.

At that admission, Matthew began to cry in earnest.

Swearing softly, Sam climbed out of bed, clutching Matthew close to him. "Dean, what do you mean?"

"She...someone took her...and I can't...I can't follow her...god..." he clutched his head and shut his eyes, image flickering rapidly.

"What's happening?" Michael swallowed hard as he climbed off his own bed.

"The bad man took Mommy," Matthew whimpered.

Sam looked down at him. "What bad man, Matthew?"

"The bad man," he said again tearfully as he looked up at Sam.

He swallowed, paling. The man that had been after Chloe had found them. And she was gone. "Dean," he turned to his still flickering brother. "Dean, concentrate...please, don't leave. Tell me what happened."

Closing his eyes, Dean forced himself to stay. "We were just...talking...and suddenly I couldn't....I couldn't do anything and this man came...he took her...and he put something on her so I couldn't follow."

"Hood," Matthew sniffled, leaning against Sam once more.

"Hood?" he frowned and looked down at the child. "What do you mean, kiddo?"

"He put a hood on her head." A tear trickled down his cheek.

Hugging Matthew closer to him at the information, he closed his eyes. "Chloe," he murmured.

* * *

She moaned as dizziness and nausea washed over her in the utter darkness. Her heart pounding rapidly against her chest, she realized something was over her head. Something that was making it hot and hard to breathe. Panic creeping into her chest, she tried to reach up to remove whatever it was, but her hands were tied tightly behind her back and she couldn't move them.

A moment later, heavy footsteps thundered over to her and slowly took off the hood. "Nice to see you awake."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she blinked a few times rapidly to clear her blurry vision. The breath hitched in her throat. "David?" she whispered.

David grinned. "Bonus, you remember me."

"We...work together, of course I remember you," she whispered, trying to understand what was going on.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. You were really the only one that paid much attention to me."

"What...where are we, why..." She looked around, her gaze flickering over to the large slabs of raw, hanging meat. Her stomach turned.

"I needed to get you some place without distractions," he looked around the room that they were in and shrugged. "This place is out of the way."

"What do you want from me?" she whispered.

"Just you," he mumbled, dropping to her level and caressing her cheek.

She flinched away from him without thinking about it.

His eyes darkened. "I think maybe some time alone could do you a little good though."

Chloe didn't respond, shuddering involuntarily at the smell of blood that permeated the air.

David stood slowly and walked toward the entrance. "I'll be back later."

She pressed herself as far back into the corner of the dimly lit room as she could, tugging ineffectually at the ropes binding her wrists together. Tears stung her eyes. Sam, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut.

***

Almost an hour later had Dean sitting by his oldest, trying to push away the instinct to pace the length of the room in worry. He glanced at his brother as he rubbed Matthew's back. "He finally asleep?"

"Yeah, for now," Sam murmured.

"I can't believe this," he mumbled, hand glancing over Michael's hair.

Michael leaned against him, his eyes and nose red. "How do we get Mommy back?" There was determination in his voice.

"We're not sure yet, bud, but we'll figure it out," he looked down at him.

"If this guy knows how to hurt you, you're not gonna be able to help," Sam said quietly, turning his head to look a his brother.

Dean's eyes flashed with hurt and he shook his head. "I need to help."

"I know." He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "You think you can stay with the kids?"

"You can't go alone."

"I'm not seeing a choice here, Dean."

He sighed. "I know."

"Did you see who it was? Get a look at the guy at all?"

Dean's face suddenly hardened and he nodded. "It was that man she worked with...the one I didn't trust."

Sam's eyes narrowed at the information. "That David guy?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Him."

His expression tight with anger, he carefully shifted Matthew into Dean's arms and rose to his feet.

He held Matthew close to him and looked at his brother. "Be careful, okay? Chloe doesn't need to bury another man she loves."

Sam blanched. "She won't have to. But she may be burying a coworker," he warned as he headed for the door.

Dean's face darkened. "Good."

* * *

She'd lost track of how long she'd been in the meat locker. All she knew was that she was freezing and the only exit was locked from the outside. Her hands were still twisted firmly behind her back, bound with tight ropes that had cut into her skin. She shrank back into the corner as she heard footsteps approaching. Her heart began to beat faster, her stomach twisting with dread.

David came slowly into view, a blanket draped over his arm. "Hello Chloe."

Eyeing him warily, she began to go over options in her mind. David wasn't a large man. Under other circumstances she could probably get free, but not with her hands tied as they were. "Hi, David."

"You cold?" He asked, motioning to the blanket in his arm.

"A little bit."

Bending close to her, he put the blanket around her shoulders and sat back on his heels. "You and I could be great together."

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to gaze at him like she was actually interested. "You left me a rose on my desk?" Her voice was quiet.

He nodded. "I thought you'd like them."

"I did. Thank you." She dropped her gaze to the floor.

He smiled. "You're welcome."

"So we haven't really had much time to get to know each other at work." She forced a smile onto her face and looked at him once more.

"I know you pretty well," he mumbled.

She fought the urge to shudder at his admission. "Okay, but...I don't know you that well," she said softly.

He put a hand on her cheek. "You'll get to know me."

Her stomach tightened at the touch. "Why don't you tell me about you? What kind of things do you like?"

"Well, you know I like writing."

She nodded a little. "Yeah."

"And...I like little kids."

Her face grew pale at the implication of his words. "You don't have any yourself?"

He shook his head. "No."

She tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it with the sudden overwhelming fear she had for Matthew and Michael.

"And, I can take care of you. I won't...die."

The air left her lungs in a whooshing sound. "Dean died taking care of me." Her voice was tight, strained with barely contained anger.

"But I can take care of you, and avoid dying," he said quietly.

Tears prickled at her eyes and she looked away, trying to force back her sudden rush of hatred and anger for the man in front of her. "Do you plan to keep me locked up in this meat locker?"

"I'll let you out when you warm up to me more," he stroked her cheek again.

"It's hard to warm up to someone when you're stuck in an icebox."

Laughing softly, he stood. "Oh that lovely snark of yours. That's one thing I love about you."

She didn't reply as she watched him head for the door.

"I'll be back soon, and we'll try this again," he said, smiling as he walked out the door.

"I can hardly wait," she whispered under her breath, shivering despite the blanket wrapped around her.

***

Dean let out a frustrated sigh as he sat against the headboard between Matthew and Michael. His youngest was still sleeping while his oldest was leaning against his arm.

"Is Uncle Sam gonna find Mommy?" Michael looked up at him.

"Yeah, bud. He'll find her," Dean whispered, smiling a little.

"Promise?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I promise."

Michael rested his head against his dad's shoulder.

Dean closed his eyes, trying his best not to phase out and find out what Sam was up to. "Hey, how about you tell me what you like to do."

"I like to shoot monsters."

He raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

Michael nodded solemnly. "'specially ones that scare Matthew."

"And what do you use to shoot them?"

"My gun."

"Your gun, huh? And...who gave you a gun?"

He thought for a moment. "Santa."

Dean raised his eyebrow. He was gonna have to have a talk with Santa...

"It's not a real gun," he said, glancing up at Dean.

He smiled a little. "It's not, huh?"

He shook his head. "Mommy said I can't have a real gun."

Reaching his hand up, he ruffled Michael's hair. "And she's right."

"How come you left?"

"It's...hard to explain, bud."

"Try?" He frowned and looked up at his dad.

Biting his lip, Dean looked down at Michael. "I didn't mean to, you know that?"

"Mommy and Uncle Sam told me that," he said, nodding a little, though curiosity still shone in his hazel eyes.

"And they're right," he said quietly. "You know how you like to get the monsters?"

He nodded again.

"Well, that's what I did. And...when you were a baby, there was a really big scary monster that I had to get."

"But he got you instead?" His lower lip stuck out a little.

"I got him first," he ran a hand over Michael's hair.

"Oh." Michael rested his head against his dad's shoulder again.

"But...he got me in the end," Dean's expression saddened as he stared at the wall.

"Mommy and Uncle Sam miss you," he whispered, looking up at him.

"I know. And I miss them, and you."

"And Matty?"

"Yeah, and Matty."

Michael sighed softly and looked at his little brother.

Dean followed the boy's gaze. "You do an awesome job looking after your brother."

"I do?" His eyes lit up.

He grinned. "Yup. You're the bestest big brother."

He beamed at the compliment. "Thanks, Daddy!"

Dean ruffled his hair again. "Anytime, kiddo."

"Do you think Mommy and Uncle Sam are gonna get married?" His voice was filled with curiosity.

"Would you like that?"

He tilted his head to one side, looking thoughtful. Then he nodded.

"Then maybe you can help them so they'll get married," Dean's voice was thoughtful. "You and Matty."

"How?" His eyebrows furrowed.

"Be happy around them, and...tell Uncle Sammy that you don't ever want him to leave."

"I can do that!" Michael grinned.

Mirroring his oldest's grin, Dean wrapped his arm around him. "Good."

He hugged him back. "I hope Uncle Sam brings Mommy back soon."

"He will, he will."

At that moment, Matthew's body went rigid in Dean's arms.

Dean's head shot down to his son's small body and he began to stroke his back. "Matty..."

"Mommy," he whimpered.

"Matty, wake up," his tone was soft but demanding.

He sat up quickly, blinking rapidly. "I want Mommy," he whimpered.

"Uncle Sammy went to get her," Dean rubbed his hand over Matthew's hair, smoothing it out.

"Does he know where to look?" The worry in Matthew's eyes was obvious.

He frowned a little. "Do you know, Matty?"

He nodded solemnly. "There's dead aminals hanging up. And it's cold."

At the new information, Dean stood, thinking.

Michael watched his dad pace the floor, a frown on his face.

He stopped pacing in the middle of the room. "I know where he needs to go." Walking back over to where his sons were, he stooped down to Michael's level. "Can you look after your brother for two minutes while I find Uncle Sammy?"

He nodded. "I'll take care of him."

"Atta boy," and with that, he disappeared.

* * *

Sam's expression was grim, his knuckles white as he gripped onto the steering wheel of the Impala tightly. His heart was beating quickly and heavily in his chest as he drove around town trying to figure out where David might have taken Chloe.

"I know where she's being kept."

The sound of Dean's voice startled him so badly, he swerved and nearly drove right off the road.

"Dammit Sam!" Dean gripped the side of the door. "You're supposed to take care of this car!"

"Well what do you expect to happen when you pop up out of nowhere?" he shot back, steering the car back onto the road. "Where the hell did he take Chloe?"

"A meat locker. Matthew saw it," He said quickly.

"Meat locker," he repeated, quickly turning things over in his mind. Gripping the wheel more tightly, he stepped on the gas, speeding down the road and taking a sharp turn.

Dean growled again in protest. "Take care of my baby, dammit."

"That's what I'm trying to do."

"You better," he warned, disappearing.

Sam gritted his teeth. So help him, if David had hurt Chloe in any way, he was a dead man.

* * *

Chloe's eyes were shut as she sat slumped against the wall, her body shivering from being inside the cold storage room for so long. Her teeth chattered together involuntarily and she had long since lost feeling in her hands. She winced as she heard footsteps approaching the entrance.

David came into view once more, a smirk on his face. "How you doing, Chloe?"

"Go away," she whispered.

His face immediately darkened. "Now that's no way to talk."

"Screw you."

The smirk appeared back on his face. "Gladly."

She slowly turned her head to look at him, wondering if that's why he'd left her in the freezer so long. So she'd be to weak and cold to fight back. The thought made her stomach turn and she yanked her hands against the ropes in a weak attempt to free herself again.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you'd like to get free."

She glared at him with as much defiance as she could muster. Catching sight of movement behind him, the breath hitched in her throat.

Not realizing that there was anything behind him, he folded his arms and gazed down at her. "If you try to get free, I'll go after your children."

"Think again," a familiar voice growled, the sound of a gun being cocked coming from right behind him.

David stiffened at the sound of the gun being cocked and turned slowly. "Hi Sam."

Sam's face was dark and hard. "You picked the wrong family to screw with," he informed him grimly.

He cocked his head to the side. "I don't think so."

Chloe bit down hard on her tongue as she managed to climb to her feet, her heart pounding wildly against her chest. She caught Sam's eyes for the briefest of moments before she moved forward quickly, kicking David's legs out from beneath him and sending him sprawling on the floor. "Surprise."

When David went down, Sam stepped over him and behind Chloe, cutting her restraints loose. "Thank God. Are you okay?"

She winced a little as she rubbed her wrists. "Yeah, I think so." She shivered.

He let out a breath and turned her around, pulling her into a hug.

She shut her eyes, winding her arms around him tightly, pressing her face against his chest and listening to the sound of his heart beating rapidly. "Are *you* okay?" she whispered, slowly looking up at him.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm...I'm okay, now that I know you are."

"I knew you'd come for me," she whispered.

He pressed his face into her hair. "I couldn't just leave you."

She rested her head against his, her fingers resting lightly against the back of his neck.

He relaxed against her touch, eyes traveling down to the necklace around her. "Chloe...what's this?"

"I don't know. He put it on me," she whispered, slowly pulling away, and reaching up to take it off.

Sam helped her, throwing the bag into the corner once it was off.

"What is it?" she asked anxiously looking up at him.

"I don't--" He was cut off as wind picked up around them.

Her eyes widened a little and she grabbed his arm.

A moment later, Dean appeared, his expression one of rage mixed with fury.

"Dean," she whispered, her eyes still wide.

"Get back to the boys. Now." He didn't look at the two of them as he made his way over to David.

She swallowed hard.

With a nod of his head, David jerked up and flew back against the wall. Breaking his gaze for a moment, he locked eyes with Chloe. "GO!"

She looked up at Sam. "The boys," she whispered.

Sam nodded slightly, mouth open in awe and horror as he watched his brother advance on the man that kidnapped the woman he loved.

Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself, quickly heading for the door.

He followed after her, not wanting to know what Dean would do now that he had David in his grasp.

* * *

Sam never let up on the gas as they sped back to the hotel room where the boys were waiting. Once they reached their room, he opened the door and let Chloe step through first. 

She sucked in a breath at the sight of her boys sitting on the bed. "Hi, babies," she whispered.

Both jumped up at her voice and ran at her, wrapping their arms around her legs tightly.

She knelt down in front of them, hugging them close to her, pressing kisses to their foreheads.

"Mommy," Matthew murmured, burying his face into her neck, tears running down his face again.

"It's okay, Baby," she whispered, rubbing his back gently. "I'm here."

He sniffed. "The bad man took you away."

She swallowed hard, kissing the top of his head. "But I'm safe now. Because of you and Michael and Uncle Sam and Daddy."

Nodding a little, he pulled away and rubbed his hand over his eyes, wiping away the tears.

"Everything's okay, Sweetheart," she whispered, gazing at him with tears shining in her own eyes.

"Promise?"

"I promise." She touched his face, then looked at Michael, realizing his eyes were filled with just as much fear as Matthew's had been. "It's okay, Michael."

He nodded, blinking back the tears he felt coming.

She pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly as she shut her eyes.

"I'm glad you came back, Mommy," he whispered, hugging her back.

"I'll always come back," she whispered.

Michael tightened his arms around her neck and nodded. "Always and forever?"

"Of course." She kissed his cheek and turned to look up at Sam.

He pulled away and looked toward Sam, who was leaning against the wall, just inside the doorway. "And you too, Uncle Sammy?"

"Yeah. You too, Sam?" Chloe's voice was quiet as she gazed up at him intently.

Sam hesitated for a moment before pushing off of the wall and walking over to where the other three were and stooped down to their level. "Yeah, me too."

She reached out and touched his cheek with one hand, gazing into his eyes for a moment. Then she kissed him softly on the lips.

He responded to her slowly, putting his arms around her and pulling her close.

Michael giggled at the sight and looked at his brother.

"I love you, Sam," she whispered against his lips, winding her arms around him in return.

Sam smiled slightly. "I love you too."

Matthew made a face as the display before him. "Grown ups are gross," he said, looking back at his brother.

"I'm never kissing a girl," Michael declared, crawling up on the bed.

Following him, Matthew climbed up onto the bed as well. "Me either."

Chloe chuckled softly, gazing intently at Sam. "Thank you," she whispered.

Sam gazed back at her. "No problem," he whispered back.

She smoothed her fingers gently along his face. "I wanna be with you. If you still...if you still want me," she whispered.

He pulled away slightly. "What about Dean?"

"I'll always love Dean." Her voice was quiet. "But you're the one I wanna be with, Sam."

"Really?" He asked, hope mixed with uncertainty shone in his eyes.

"I'm in love with you," she whispered.

Bowing his head, he took her hands in his. "And I'm in love with you."

She slid her fingers through his without hesitation, feeling something inside of her relax. Like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth softly, closing her eyes.

He closed his eyes as well, drinking in her presence and pulling her closer to him.

From the corner of the room, Dean watched with a small smile on his face, arms folded. 'My job here is done,' he thought, slowly fading away.

Epilogue

"I'm a pirate!" Matthew announced, waving around his fake sword. A red scarf was tied around his head as he wandered over toward his older brother, where he was digging through a large trunk they'd found.

Michael shook his head a little, finally standing up straight with a dusty book in his hand. "And I'm the smart man come to make you take a bath!"

Matthew wrinkled his nose. "Baths suck."

The older nodded. "I know. I don't know why Mommy and Uncle Sam make us take them."

"What's that?" he asked curiously, pointing to the book with his sword.

He shrugged a little. "I dunno. I found it in the trunk, and there's a zillion more just like it still there."

Matthew peeked into the large trunk and set his sword down, reaching out and grabbing one of the large, dusty books. "What's a journal?"

"Lets go ask Mommy."

"Okay!" Toting the heavy book, he followed Michael down the stairs.

Going into the front room where Chloe was laying across the couch with Sam on the floor next to it, Michael stopped in front of them. "Mommy, what's a journal?"

She glanced over at him, her fingers stroking Sam's hair absently. "It's like a diary. Where you write your thoughts and feelings."

"Oh...okay."

"Why, Sweetheart?" she asked curiously.

"Cause me and Matty...found some books that say that on them," Michael said, looking down at the carpet and scuffing his shoe.

Chloe's eyebrows furrowed. "Where'd you find them?"

"In a big trunk in the attic," Matthew volunteered, clutching the book to his chest. "We was playing pirates."

Sam frowned a little. "Huh...wanna show me that book, Matty?"

"Sure." He moved over and sat down beside Sam, handing it over.

Taking the dusty book, he opened it slowly and stared down at its pages. After close study of the words, his mouth fell open.

"Sam? What is it?" she murmured, sitting up slowly.

"This is...this is Dean's," he said breathlessly.

For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. Swallowing hard, she slowly slid off the sofa and sat down on his other side.

Flipping through a few more pages, he stopped at one and looked up at the date. "This was written right before Michael was born."

"What's it say?" she whispered, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Clearing his throat, Sam read it aloud. "'I'm gonna be a dad. And soon. And I'm not gonna lie, it's freaking me the hell out. And I can't help but wonder what that'll mean for all of us...the demon's still not dead and if he comes after my child...I swear to God I'll kill him.'"

She closed her eyes, letting out a slow breath as her fingers wound around his arm.

He turned a few more pages, this was near the end of the book. "'Michael Thomas Winchester was born yesterday, and I don't know how, but when I held that little pink thing in my arms...something inside me lit up again. And looking at Chloe, she was so beautiful. I love her so much for giving me my son, and I never ever want to leave either of them.'"

A faint smile touched her lips and she pressed a kiss to Sam's shoulder, opening her eyes and looking at Michael. With one hand held out toward him, she pulled him onto her lap.

Michael snuggled into his mom and watched as Matthew crawled onto Sam's lap. "Daddy loved us," he all but whispered, looking up at his mom.

"Yeah, he did. He still does." She kissed his forehead.

"I sometimes hear Daddy whisper to me at night," Matthew spoke up.

"What's he say?" she asked softly, looking at her youngest son.

"He just says he loves me and that he's keepin' the monsters away."

Tears pricked at her eyes and she smiled softly, looking up at Sam.

Sam smiled as well, hugging Matthew close. "I bet he is, I bet he is."

Chloe rested her chin on top of Michael's head, a soft chuckle escaping her a moment later. "Did you feel that?" she asked him.

Michael's face grew puzzled. "Feel what, Mommy?"

She smiled and took his hand, placing it on her stomach. "Your sister's saying hello."

Matthew perked up at the comment. "I wanna feel!"

Chloe took his hand and gently rested it on her belly, chuckling when he giggled at the sensation. She met Sam's eyes.

He looked back at her, a soft smile playing at his lips. Leaning in, he kissed her softly.

She returned the light kiss, reaching up to touch his cheek, her wedding ring cool against his warm skin.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she whispered back, closing her eyes as she leaned her forehead against his.

Stroking her cheek and taking in her features, Sam's smile grew at his fortune that Chloe had let him in, let him finally take care of her. As he dwelt on those thoughts, he thought he faintly heard a familiar voice say 'Get a room, you two.'

Another soft chuckle escaped her as she heard the voice, as well. "Not a bad idea," she whispered, kissing him once more. She rested her head against his collarbone, closing her eyes and relaxing against him. Content. Happy.


End file.
